Karnataka gram panchayat polls: Over 1.40 crore rural citizens to vote Sunday

Over 1.40 crore citizens in rural areas will vote on Sunday in the second phase of polls for 2,709 gram panchayats.

The first phase in which a total of 3,019 gram panchayats across the state went to polls on December 22, saw a good voter turnout of over 80% in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the State Election Commission, there are 1.05 lakh contestants vying for 39,378 seats in the second phase.

Some 3,697 candidates have been elected unopposed in the second phase, akin to the first phase that saw 4,377 candidates win without any fight. Authorities have taken a strong view on this and are verifying each case to see if there was any auctioning of seats, which is illegal. Also, 34,115 candidates withdrew their nomination for the second phase. This figure was 40,352 in the first phase.

The votes polled in both phases of the gram panchayat elections will be counted on December 30.