Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.
The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.
More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.
While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.
Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.
By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.
As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.
The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.
Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.
BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.
Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.
In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.
Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.
With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.
Comments
This man is an idiot and misguiding the people
He says Hinduism allows to kill the girl and go to jail. Hinduism never says anywhere in any book.
This is his own idea. Such a men are dangerous to the society.
I advice ask the girl and her supporters to prove her choice of selecting the religion is her wise decision.
She or any Muslims if they prove that Islam has the upper hand in the guidance than Hinduism, then the girl is right else she wrongly chooses to accept Islam.
But I am sure she can win the case easily as the truth is at her side.
Local police didnot file a case ? PFI is there to pressurise them ......dont worry ...
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