22 candidates fight it out in Mysore-Kodagu

Voting for the Lok Sabha seat will be held on Thursday from 7 am to 6 pm and the district administration has made all preparations for the process.

A total of 543 polling booths have been set up in the two Assembly constituencies of the district.

Personnel from the Anti-Naxal Force are on high alert in the Maoist-infested areas. The Forest Department has maintained the necessary precautions in the 144 polling booths affected by man-elephant conflict.

Kodagu district is a part of the Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency and there are 22 candidates in the fray for the elections.

The mustering process was held at the St Joseph School in Madikeri and the Government Junior College in Virajpet Assembly constituency.

T Javaregowda, Madikeri Assembly constituency assistant returning officer, and Srinivas, Virajpet Assembly constituency assistant returning officer, monitored the mustering work.

Deputy Commissioner and District Returning Officer Annies Kanmani Joy and Additional Deputy Commissioner and Additional District Returning Officer P Shivaraju were present at Virajpet and Madikeri mustering centres respectively.

Polling booth personnel collected the electronic voting machines, control units and VVPAT machines from the mustering centre and the left to their respective polling stations.

KSRTC buses ferried the polling booth personnel to their respective polling booths. By Wednesday evening, the polling staff made preparations for the voting process.

Help desks were opened to provide information for booth-level officers, police and sector officers.

Annies Kanmani Joy said that teams of flying squads, video viewing, video surveillance, checkpost, sector officers, micro observers and transit officials have been formed to ensure free and fair elections.

Superintendent of Police Dr Suman D Pennekar said that police and security personnel have been deployed at all polling booths.

The people can cast their votes without any fear. BSF, DAR and KSRP platoons and Home Guards will also be on duty, she added.