Polling for Karnataka Assembly ends, EVMs secured and sealed

LUCKNOW: The voting for the Karnataka Assembly concluded at 6 pm on Wednesday, with EVMs and VVPATs being sealed and secured at polling booths. The overall voter turnout was recorded at 65.70 per cent, the Election Commission (EC) said.

Polling for 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka began at 7 am on Wednesday. After a slow start, the turnout picked up as the day wore on. According to the EC, the highest turnout till 5 pm was recorded by Chickaballapur district at 76.64 per cent, while the BBMP (South) district recorded the lowest at 48.63 per cent.

Bangalore Rural recorded 76.10 per cent polling till 5 pm, with Bagalkot trailing at 70.04 per cent and Bangalore Urban at 52.19 per cent. Further, the EC said B.B.M.P (Central) and B.B.M.P (North) recorded turnouts of 50.10 per cent and 50.02 per cent till 5 pm.

A voter turnout of 52.18 per cent was recorded till 3 pm, up from 37.25 per cent at 1 pm and 20.99 per cent at 11 am. In what turned out to be a high-decibel campaign phase, the incumbent BJP, Congress and the JDS went at each other and pulled out all stops and their heavyweights to woo voters.

After the controversy around its manifesto, which included a promise to ban the Bajrang Dal, Congress tried to redirect its campaign focus back to the bread-and-butter issues and the alleged corruption on the watch of the incumbent BJP government.

However, the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went big on the pledge to ban the Bajrang Dal and alleged faux pas by the party's designated translator at a campaign rally addressed by Sonia Gandhi.

In this year's Karnataka polls, the Congress (supported by the CPI), and JDS are contesting on their own, aiming to form their government with a full majority.

The Congress and JDS had contested as partners in the previous state polls. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.