B D Narayankar reports
Bangalore, April 17 (PTI) An estimated 65 per cent of the
4.62 crore voters in Karnataka exercised their franchise today
for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the single-phase polls in which the
ruling Congress and BJP are playing for high stakes.
The elections held under the watchful eyes of some 85,000
security personnel, including the central forces, passed off
peacefully with no major untoward incident, officials said.
Voting ranged from moderate to brisk in the initial hours
touching about 25 per cent till around noon but gathered pace
reaching 47 per cent at 3 pm and 60 per cent by 5 pm, Chief
Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha told PTI.
Polling in the three constituencies of Bangalore - South,
Central and North - was more than 50 per cent till 5 pm, he
said, adding that the final polling percentage would go up
further.
A total of 435 candidates are in the fray with BJP
expecting upswing in its fortunes after the bitter defeat in
the 2013 Assembly polls when it lost power to Congress, which
on the other side, is hoping to replicate its performance.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the final voting percentage
was 58.81. The then ruling party BJP had won 19 seats,
Congress six and JDS three.
In a tragic note to the election process, two polling
officials died of heart attack in Belgaum and Tumkur
districts, police said.
Among the key contestants are Nandan Nilekani, former
Infosys co-founder and the richest candidate in the fray with
his and wife's declared wealth of over Rs 7,700 crore, who is
locked in a close fight with five-time MP BJP's Ananth Kumar
in Bangalore South.
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