17 ZPs, 103 TPs go to polls today

An electorate of 1.54 crore will decide the fate of 9,595 candidates in fray for 595 ZP and 2,163 TP seats . Polling will be held between 7 am and 5 pm. A total of 18,203 polling stations have been set up.

The districts going to the polls on New Year’s eve are Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bijapur, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal and Davangere.

One candidate each of the BJP in Nanjanagud and Honnavar taluk panchayats have been elected unopposed. The State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered repolling in one booth each in Yadgir and Tumkur districts, two booths in Chickballapur district and eight booths in Bellary district on Friday.

For the ruling BJP, it is a litmus test of its popularity, especially after facing serious charges of corruption in the recent days. Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, against whom the opposition parties made a series of corruption charges and demanded his ouster, vigorously campaigned in the polls to prove his popularity.

The Congress and JD(S) are focusing on the corruption charges against the Chief Minister in the polls. The Congress, which has faced humiliating defeats in almost all elections held in the last two-and-a-half years, has been trying to make a come back through the panchayat polls. The JD(S) has set a high ambition of spreading its base across the State in these elections. The results are crucial for the party to consolidate itself and prepare for the next Assembly elections.Gulbarga will go to the polls on January 1. Counting will be taken up on January 4.