JOIN USLure of lucre takes polling beyond dusk
Rules permit polling beyond the closing time of 5 pm for voters who have entered the polling area before that time. The delay was mainly because of a technical snag in the electronic voting machines in many constituencies. Hence, the polling time was extended by two hours, according to sources here. At 5 pm, there were 50 to 500 voters in queues at polling booths in different taluks of the district.
When contacted, Secretary to State Election Commission D K Ravindranath said they have neither given permission to allow polling beyond 5 pm nor received any request from the district administration in this regard.
However, long queues were witnessed at dusk at Sirigere, Malappanahalli, Singapura and Mathada Kurubarahalli in Chitradurga Taluk, Kandikal, Hunasehalli, Muthugadur in Holalkere Taluk, Channamma Nagathihalli, T N Kote, Hunasehalli and Hebballi in Challakere.
But in many constituencies, the loss of interest among voters was also due to the hesitation of candidates to distribute money and gifts for fear of provoking the Election Commission’s action. “We came to know that a lot of money is being distributed by candidates elsewhere. Why should we vote for nothing,” said a middle-aged voter at Malappanahalli.
Other factors also seem to have played their role in the delay, including the disinterest of upper caste voters in reserved constituencies. Increase of seat reservation for women to 50 per cent appears to have drained enthusiasm among voters used to power politics exercised by men.
Party managers were at their wit’s end, persuading upper caste voters to go to the booths. Many voters wanted to be taken to the booths in vehicles. And the party agents’ desperation bordered on panic for fear of coming to the adverse attention of the Election Commission.
The cold morning was another factor deterring voters from landing up in voting booths early. Moreover, harvesting having begun, many preferred to go to work, than to the booths.
At Honnenahalli, it was for a different reason that the voters did not land up at the booth. The main parties declining to give ticket to a popular personality of the area, Hanumanthappa, resulted in only a few voters reaching the booths even by 3 pm. The campaigners had to “persuade” voters to come to the booth as the deadline for closure of voting approached.
64 pc turnout
The first phase of panchayat polls in the State passed off peacefully on Sunday barring stray incidents of clashes and faulty electronic voting machines. The voter turnout has been put at 64 per cent, DHNS reports from Bangalore.
Polling was held for 374 ZP seats and 1,335 TP seats in these districts. Bangalore Urban recorded the lowest voter turnout, while the highest polling was in the neighbouring Bangalore Rural district. State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered re-polling in three places - two booths in Chikkaballapur and one in Bellary.