Bypoll peaceful in Kadur, Gulbarga

Fate of candidates sealed in EVMs; counting will be held on Thursday

 
Preliminary reports put the average vote recorded in the elections as 60 per cent. While Kadur registered an approximate 65 per cent vote, Gulbarga south polled 55 per cent.
"Polling went on peacefully and there seems to be no need for re-polling anywhere.

However, the decision to conduct re-polling, if necessary, will be taken after receiving the final reports from the election officers of both constituencies," Chief Electoral Officer C S Suranjana said.

The final reports on the polling process are likely to reach the Office of Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, on Tuesday.

The byelections were necessitated due to the death of Congress's M K Krishnamurthy of Kadur and the BJP's Chandrashekar Patil Revoor of Gulbarga South.

Compared to 2008 assembly elections, polling percentage has been low in these constituencies. In 2008, Kadur had registered 70.41 per cent votes, while Gulbarga South had recorded 50.78 per cent.

Money, liquor seized

In Gulbarga South, police have seized a car with Maharashtra registration carrying Rs 5 lakh in the Raghavendra Colony area. Investigation is on.

Excise department officials, in a raid near the Tajsultanpur area on the outskirts of the city, also seized illegally stored liquor worth Rs 1 lakh. One person has been arrested in this connection. In many places, people complained of missing names from the electoral rolls in the constituencies.

In Kadur, there was confusion in Kedigere village as people alleged that some leaders had collected money from political parties on their behalf. The villagers had even threatened to boycott the polling. However, people started exercising their franchise after some leaders clarified their doubts.

The JD(S) workers staged a protest at Ballary camp and AMR High School, alleging that the voters list at Birur had the BJP candidate's photo and the party symbol. At Saraswathipuram, the BJP and the Congress workers staged a protest as there was an ink mark next to the JD(S) candidate's name on an  EVM. There was a technical snag with the EVMs in Jiganehalli, Kedigere and Jakkanahalli, forcing polling officers to suspend the process for some time. The polling resumed later.

Prestige issue

Winning the byelections has become a prestige issue for all the three political parties. The Congress not only wants to retain its Kadur seat, but also seeks to take Gulbarga South. It has fielded former chief minister and senior leader N Dharam Singh's son Ajay Singh in Gulbarga South. The party has fielded K M Kemparaju, who is the brother of the late K M Krishnamurthy, in Kadur.

Similarly, the ruling BJP has left no stone unturned to maintain its winning streak. It has fielded three-time MLC Shashil Namoshi in Gulbarga South and V Vishwanath in Kadur. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and almost all his cabinet ministers campaigned for the party candidates.

The Janata Dal(Secular) has a given tough fight to both national parties in the byelections. It has fielded Aruna Patil, wife of the late Chandrashekara Patil Revoor, in Gulbarga south and Y S V Datta in Kadur.

An elderly woman collapsed and died after exercising her franchise at Girls’ Higher Primary School in Birur, Kadur assembly constituency, at 5 pm. The dead has been identified as Gangamma (80). She was the last person to vote.