Karnataka by-elections: 71 pc turnout
Bangalore, Dec 28: The by-elections to the eight assembly constituencies witnessed voting of 71 percent. The much debated Madhugiri constituency recorded the highest polling which crossed around 80 percent. Polling was peaceful in most areas.
In the high-profile Madhugiri constituency Anitha Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) battled with C Chennigappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and K N Rajanna of the Congress. In Belgaum district, Arabhavi and Hukkeri, came a close second with 77 per cent polling. Two ministers, Balachandra Jarkiholi and Umesh Katti are finding their electoral fortunes from these two constituencies respectively.
The lowest turnout in the by-elections was Devadurga in Raichur district with 50 per cent polling. In Madhugiri, more number of voters turned up this time than in the last elections. When D C Gowrishankar had contested as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate in May, the constituency had recorded a polling percentage of 75.46.Now its the turn of his fatther C Chennigappa who contested against Anita.
In
Maddur,
last
time,
M
S
Siddaraju
of
the
Janata
Dal
(Secular)
had
emerged
victorious
in
an
election
which
recorded
75.32
per
cent
polling.
This
time
his
widow
Kalpana
contested
as
a
Janata
Dal
(Secular)
candidate.
And,
the
constituency
reported
76.15
per
cent
polling.
Karwar,
where
Minister
Anand
Asnotikar
is
in
the
fray
on
BJP
ticket,
witnessed
64
per
cent
of
the
1,83,941
voters
casting
their
votes.
While
in
Doddabballapur,
76
per
cent
of
the
1.76
lakh
voters
cast
their
ballot,
Turuvekere
witnessed
a
polling
of
67
per
cent,
according
to
the
returning
officers.
There
were
reports
of
a
bee-attack
at
two
polling
booths
at
Doddaballapur
said
Chief
Electoral
Officer
M
N
Vidyashankar
Kodathipura
and
Chikkanahalli
polling
booths
witnessed
a
polling
of
85
and
82
per
cent
respectively,
Vidyashankar
said.
OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)