1.13 lakh contestants vie for 42,211 seats in phase II of GP elections today

As many as 1,13,841 candidates will fight it out for 41,211 gram panchayat seats in 15 districts under Bengaluru and Kalaburagi divisions on Tuesday, during the second phase of polls.

Polling will be held in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagar, Chitradurga, Davangere, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal districts from 7 am to 5 pm.

In all, there are 2,682 GPs in these districts.  While 4,224 candidates have been elected unanimously, as many as 320 seats have been uncontested due to reasons including boycott of polls by the voters.

Voting will be held in the traditional ballot paper method in all the districts, except Bidar, where EVMs have been introduced for the first time. Counting for both the phases will be held on June 5.

Holiday has been declared to schools and colleges (both government and aided), factories, commercial establishments, banks and insurance companies coming within the GP limits, in these districts.

Ban on liquor sale

The Bengaluru district administration has banned sale and transportation of liquor between 6 am on June 1 and 6 am on June 3; and between 6 pm on June 4 till 6 pm on June 6.

Bengaluru Urban district has 93 GPs and 2,373 seats. However, 358 candidates have been elected unanimously. In all, 5,464 candidates are in the fray contesting 2,011 seats.

Of the total 912 polling stations, 306 have been classified as sensitive and 202, as
hyper-sensitive. In Chikkabidarakallu, 29 candidates have been elected unanimously and hence there will be no election to this GP. In Guddanahalli and Bhutanahalli GPs in Anekal, all candidates have withdrawn their nominations and therefore there will be no elections here.

There are a total of 7,36,407 voters in the GPs in Bengaluru Urban district, comprising Bengaluru North, Bengaluru North (Additional), Bengaluru South, Bengaluru East (Whitefield), and Anekal taluks.