An estimated 65 percent of the 4.62 crore electorate in Karnataka cast their votes on Thursday for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the single-phase polls that saw a fierce fight between Congress and BJP.
Written By Ritesh K Srivastava|Last Updated: Apr 18, 2014, 12:46 AM IST|Source: PTI
Bangalore: An estimated 65 percent of the 4.62 crore electorate in Karnataka cast their votes on Thursday for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the single-phase polls that saw a fierce fight between Congress and BJP.
"An estimated 65 percent voter turnout was recorded in the polls held in 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state," Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha told reporters here tonight.
Elections held under the vigil of some 85,000 security personnel, including the central forces, by and large passed off peacefully with no major untoward incident, he said.
Voting ranged from moderate to brisk in the initial hours but gathered pace reaching 47 per cent at 3 PM and 60 per cent by 5 PM.
Polling in the three constituencies of Bangalore - South, Central and North - recorded an estimated voters turnout of 55, 55 and 52 per cent, respectively, Jha said.
The fate of 435 candidates was decided today with BJP expecting an upswing in its fortunes after the bitter defeat in the 2013 assembly polls when it yielded power to Congress.
In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the final voting percentage was 58.81. The then ruling party BJP had won 19 seats, Congress six and JD-S three.
Among the key contestants are Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder, who is locked in a close fight with five-time MP BJP`s Ananth Kumar in Bangalore South. Former Prime Minister and JD-S chief H D Deve Gowda (Hassan) and Union Minister M Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapur) are other prominent contestants.
Besides Gowda and Moily, four other former Chief Ministers BJP`s B S Yeddyurappa (Shimoga) and D V Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North), JD-S` H D Kumaraswamy (Chikkaballapur) and Congress` N Dharam Singh (Bidar) are also in the field.
Congress as well as BJP are targetting winning about 20 seats. BJP is expecting that the return of Yeddyurappa would bring significant gains and shift his vote base to it, as he had secured 10 per cent vote share in 2013 assembly polls, playing spoilsport to the party`s hopes of retaining power.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.