Mysore district records 67.5 pc turnout

The overall voting percentage of the district was recorded at 67.5 per cent when the polling came to close at 5 pm. Periyapatna taluk recorded the highest 71 per cent, followed by Mysore and K R Nagar- 70 pc each, Hunsur- 68 pc and H D Kote- 67 pc,T Narsipura- 65 pc and Nanjangud- 62 pc.

Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) workers staged a protest for sometime at Hinkal, Hootagalli, Alanahalli, Ramabainagar and other places in Mysore taluk, following the missing of voters names in the list. At a booth in Moodalahalli in Varuna hobli, people had to wait for two hours to begin casting their votes, as the EVM had  developed a snag.
When the voting began at the scheduled 7 am, the response was dull what with the think blanket of cold forcing the people restrict to their houses. As a result, only a few, unmindful of fog, were seen walking up to the poling booth. It was only after 9 am, the electorate gained momentum with the voters lining up to exercise their franchise in large numbers.

H D Kote taluk
Peeved at the officials who didn’t grant permission for opening a polling booth, villagers of  Telagumasahalli stayed away from voting. Except for a few stray incidents, polling went on without any hiccups at 224 booths in the taluk. There are total of 670 voters comprising Telagumasahalli and Puradasheddu. However, they have to  tread for four km to cast their votes at nearby Katuvalu village.  The irony here is, there is no bus facility and the road is also unfit to walk. What added to their ire was the candidate who was elected to ZP in the previous polls, turned his back after his election. Efforts made by the poll officers in that region to convince them, went unheard as the villagers resolved to boycott the elections. Only one person from the village dared to vote.

Hunsur
It was no different at Hunsur where the tribals at two hamlets preferred to stay put at their huts, rather than voting. At Rangaiahana Koppal hamlet coming under Dharmapura ZP constituency, Gram Panchayat member and tribal leader Kalaiah said due to the repeated negligence of the authorities concerned, silt in the channel has deprived tribals from cultivating crops. The issue has been brought to the notice of the current MLA too, but to no avail. Hence it was decided to stay away from voting, said Kalaiah on behalf of 275 voters of that region. Similar was the scene at Harinahalli hamlet in Hangod ZP seat.

T Narsipura
Decline in voting percentage, confusion over missing names, officer on poll duty taking ill and enthused voters waiting for their turn, marked the elections in this taluk. Residents of Indira and  Susheelamma colonies and Vivekananda Nagar layout coming under Bhyrapura ZP and TP constituencies, who had voted in the previous GP polls, lost their right in this polls, thanks to the names missing in the voters list. Strangely, the list with the candidates had their names, but not in the copy available with the poll officers. In his reply tahasildar attributed it to the non-availability of the photos in the list and also cross verification before the poll process.

Poll officer Rajaram deputed at Karihurali Koppal village in Turaganur ZP constituency, took ill owing to drop in blood pressure. He was immediately rushed to the government hospital.

K R Nagar
At K R Nagar too, it was a repeat of the woes at T Narsipura and Hunsur, but a BJP leader succeeded in pacifying them, thus facilitating the voting. Upset over cancelling of the booth, villagers of Madahalli in the taluk had decided to boycott the polls. Learning about the incident, BJP leader Doddaswamy Gowda who rushed to the spot, and also brokered the truce. The voting began at 11.30 am. The village has 250 voters and they had polled in the booth at their village in the previous elections. But, the decision to cancel the booth this year, had made them walk over one km to cast their vote at Maragowdanahalli. The poll officers and Doddaswamy Gowda assured to set right the issue from next polls.

Periyapatna
Condemning the apathy of the district administration, for failing to consider the plea of Nandinathapura villagers to recognise their village as revenue village, voters of that part  staged a protest thus turning their back to elections. Similarly, voters of Bettadathunga Megalakoppal boycotted, opposing the decision to shift the polling booth.