Amid faulty EVMs, power cuts, Bengaluru sees 47.75% voting till 5 pm

Voting in Bengaluru Urban constituencies took off to a slow but peaceful start amid several cases of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and complaints of poor arrangements at several places.

The average voting percentage in the 26 constituencies reached 47.75% at 5 pm, way below the state average of 64%. There were reports of minor skirmishes in Hebbal and Vijayanagar which were being investigated by the authorities.

The process of replacing faulty EVMs delayed voting, leading to long queues at several booths across the city. At booth no 108 in Pulakeshinagar segment and Bengaluru South constituency booth at Nivedita School voting did not start till 8 am while the booth at RC College (Shivajinagar constituency) had similar problem.

There were similar complaints from Hoskote, Anekal, Yashwantpur, Dasarahalli, CV Raman Nagar, Hebbal among other places. Errors in VVPAT machines were reported from Indiranagar and other places.

The morning witnessed several booths plunged in darkness due to power cuts. Though electric supply was restored, the polling process was dealyed. Electorate at several booths complained that their names were missing from voter rolls at places where they have voted earlier.

At Baglur, people were waiting in large queues to vote in the lone booth set up in the area. At several apartments, the resident welfare associations organised transport facilities to carry electorate to different polling booths. There were several instances of people helping elderly and disabled people to enter the polling booth.