Second phase polling in Karnataka sees 67% turnout

The fiercely fought elections in the second phase comprising 14 Lok Sabha segments, mostly in the northern part of the state, witnessed an estimated 67% polling on Tuesday.

With this, Karnataka’s overall voter turnout in both phases of polling stands at 68% and this may increase further after figures are finalised, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar said. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Karnataka’s voter turnout was 67.20%.

Voters turned up in large numbers to exercise their franchise braving temperatures that soared over 40 degrees Celsius in many districts of north Karnataka.

Polling was the highest in the Shimoga Lok Sabha segment at 76.26%. This, despite some disruptions due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. Shimoga was followed by Chikkodi that saw 75.42% of voters exercising their right.

While Shimoga is a matter of prestige for BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa whose son B Y Raghavendra was up against Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S)-Congress coalition, Chikkodi witnessed hectic campaigning with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressing massive rallies here just before the polls.

Voter turnout was the lowest in Raichur at 57.85% and Gulbarga at 58.27%.

The voter turnout was 67.44% in the second phase, according to the Election Commission’s official mobile app.

But according to figures released by the CEO, the voter turnout in these 14 seats was 65.64% as on 7 pm Tuesday.

While polling was largely peaceful, minor skirmishes between Congress and BJP workers were reported in Bagalkot, Chikkodi and Ballari town.

Also, several cases of electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioning were reported, but authorities managed to rectify the issue or replace the faulty machines.

“We had to replace 214 ballot units and 143 control units — the lowest replacement rate nationally. But we have had to replace 1,611 voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, which is among the highest across India. Most of the VVPAT replacement happened in Gulbarga due to high temperature,” Kumar explained.

In both phases of the election, as many as eight polling personnel died — seven due to cardiac arrest and one in a road accident, Kumar said.