JOIN USDistribution of ‘biryani’ to voters, authorities looking the other way as children wore caps displaying party symbols near polling booths and fisticuffs among workers of various parties were commonly reported in the district.
At a polling booth in Attibele of Hoskote taluk, there were verbal fights between the workers of the Congress and the BJP. The problem began when Muralidhar, a voter with a vision problem, went to the voting machine with the help of his brother.
The BJP workers took exception to this and alleged that a supporter of the Congress had accompanied Muralidhar to the polling booth. The altercations between the workers of the two parties led to tension. Muralidhar said, “The BJP workers threatened that I would lose my job, if I do not vote for their candidate”.
The situation came under control after the intervention of the police. Muralidhar exercised his franchise with the help of the police. BJP MLA Nandish Reddy’s visit to a polling booth at Adakamaranahalli of Nelamangala taluk resulted in heated exchange of words between workers of the BJP and the JD(S).
MLC E Krishnappa took the police officers to task for allowing the MLA to enter the booth and alleged that the MLA’s visit amounted to violation of the model code of conduct. As Reddy was not a voter in the panchayat, he had no right to enter the village, during the election, Krishnappa said.
Krishnappa said that Adakamaranahalli was his native and his stay there was not a violation of the poll code. Senior police officers intervened and pacified both the groups.
Voting machines damaged
Two electronic voting machines (EVMs) were damaged in a fight between BJP and Congress workers during voting on Sunday. Following a verbal duel between agents of the BJP and the Congress inside the polling booth at Doddadenahalli in Hoskote taluk, Prakash, the Congress agent, took the EVM outside and hurled it to the ground. The EVM was damaged and had to be replaced. By then, 53 people had voted. The police arrested Prakash.
EVM replaced
A similar incident was reported from Banahalli in the taluk. Congress worker Manjunath damaged a EVM around 3.30 pm and fled the place. Voting was stopped for half-an-hour and it resumed after the damaged EVM was replaced. Returning Officer H Basavarajendra announced that the EVM had developed technical snags and hence it was replaced. The data in the EVM was intact.
At Kammasandra, at around 11.15 am, ‘biryani’ was served to the voters. At Majjigehosahalli of Devanahalli taluk, there were altercations between the Congress and JD (S) workers. A 35-year-old woman was brought to a polling booth by some Congress workers.
This infuriated the JD (S) workers, who said that it was wrong to help a physically fit person to reach the polling booth. Shivanna, a Congress worker, was injured in the clash.