Polling ends in K'taka, Exit polls give Cong 100 plus seats

Bangalore, May 5: Polling for the Karnataka assembly elections that began on a strong note in the first three hours with an estimated turnout of 15-20 per cent, ended today with a voter turnout of between 60 and 65 per cent.

With the Election Commission extending the polling time by one hour till 6 pm due to rising heat, there was a late surge in last two hours like it began.

Later in the evening, various Exit Polls by electronic media gave Congress 110 to 120 seats, BJP 50 to 60, JDS 30 to 40 and KJP 10 to 15 seats. The results will be declared on Wednesday (May 8).

In Bangalore City, which had seen low voter turnout in 2008, witnessed about 55 per cent of voting, while Haveri and Bagalkot saw more than 70 per cent turnout. In many booths, the officials had not notified the extension in polling time leading to some confusion.

Among the early voters were Infosys founder NR Narayana Murty and 106-year-old Shivakumar swamji, the seer of Siddaganga Mutt.

Barring a tiff between a voter and an on-duty policeman in Bellary, polling was peaceful in the state. At a couple of places, including in Mahadevapura segment in Bangalore city, polling was delayed by a few minutes following malfunctioning of electronic voting machines.

Authorities had made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls, with about 250,000 personnel on poll duty. About four crore people were eligible to exercise their franchise in the single-phase poll.

OneIndia News