Voting peaceful in Mandya barring minor skirmish

Except for a minor clash that erupted between the supporters of JD(S) and an Independent candidate at Doddarasinakere village in Maddur taluk, the voting was overall peaceful in the district on Thursday.

Though the polling began at 7 am, technical glitches were observed at a few polling booths across the district, delaying the voting process by a few minutes. However, they were rectified and the people were allowed to cast their votes, soon after.

The supporters of JD(S) and Independent candidates, Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Sumalatha, raised objection for not keeping the machines in order at the polling booth 45 at Panedoddi village in Maddur taluk, stalling the voting process. By then, 120 votes were registered. Transport Minister D C Thammanna, who learnt about the problem, reached the booth. The supporters were not ready to accept the explanation given by the poll officials, who said that the EVMs and VVPAT were arranged as directed by the Election Commission. Voting was stalled for two and a half hours, causing inconvenience to the voters. Sector officer Ajit Kumar accepted that it was a fault of the polling officer, which was set right and the people were allowed to vote later.

Independent candidate Sumalatha joined a queue to cast her vote at polling booth number 164, at Doddarasinakere village. Sumalatha was given a warm welcome by her supporters, when she arrived at 12 noon, accompanied by her relative Madan. The voters of Mandya Lok Sabha segment will ensure that the victory will be for self-esteem (swabhimana), despite the opponents luring them with cash, she said.

Coalition candidate Nikhil, who toured several parts of the district told reporters that he will speak on May 23, the day of results. “I am confident that the people would bless me. The Independent candidate is trying to project me in bad light, right from the day she decided to contest the polls,” he said.