157 control units had problems: EC – The Election Commission said that in all the 164 polling units, 157 control units and 470 VVPATs had mechanical problems and were replaced. The EVM failures were within prescribed limits.
Re-polling in Hebbal due to malfunctioning ballot unit– The Chief Election Commissioner has clarified that re-polling will take place in a polling station in Lottegollahalli in Hebbal due to malfunctioning of a ballot unit. The re-election is likely to take place on Monday.
All eyes on exit polls with half an hour of polling left- As per the Model Code of Conduct, various media houses are barred to reveal or discuss the results of any form of exit polls. However, with the polling ending at 6 pm in Karnataka, the results of various state-wide electoral surveys will start coming out.
Voting for the 15th Karnataka Assembly has entered its final phase. With more than 64 per cent people having cast their vote until 5 PM, the polling has by-and-large been peaceful. There were reports of some EVMs not working at some booths but it was soon rectified by polling officials. Elections officials were also occasionally challenged by some selfie-enthusiasts who also posted their picture on social media apps.
Repolling in Bengaluru’s Lottegollahalli– Repolling will take place in a polling station in Hebbal assembly constituency’s Lottegollahalli in Bengaluru after a ballot unit malfunctioned today. Polling at station number two was stopped due to EVM failure. The repolling is likely to take place tomorrow. The Chief Election Officer will update the final date later this evening.
Voting percentage update at 5 pm-Poll-bound Karnataka has seen a voter turnout of 64 per cent till 5 pm with a possible error of two per cent. Polling in the state has now entered its final hour.
Woman dies in Karnataka’s Yadgir, family still turns up to cast vote- In Yadgir, electors have shown that the polls takes equal priority to family affairs. Somanna, whose mother Siddhama passed away this morning, turned up at the polling station with his son, Saran to cast his vote.
Congress candidate attacked in Parasanahalli- Congress candidate from Holenarasi[ur, BP Manje Gowda was allegedly attacked by JD(S) workers at Parasanahalli. Gowda said the mob threw stones at his car and his assistant suffered a head injury in the incident​.
Tarkaspet village in Kalburagi boycotts election– Majority of the 3500 residents of Chittapur taluk’s Tarkaspet village in Kalburagi district are boycotting elections over their demand for Gram Panchayat headquarters for their village.
Parties caught bribing voters outside polling booths- BJP and Congress activists were caught on camera handing out Rs 500-600 per vote just outside polling booths. India Today’s investigative journalists filmed the electoral bribing between 10 am and noon in Bengaluru South, where the Congress party’s RK Ramesh and the BJP’s sitting MLA, M Krishnappa, were in the fray.Even as many places received rainfall last night, temperature in Kalaburgi is soaring over 40 degrees in the afternoon, affecting the voter turnout.
With just three more hours left for voting, 56% of votes have been registered till 3 pm- Over 2,600 candidates are in the fray — more than 2400 men and and over 200 women. The total voters including service electors according to the 2018 final rolls are 5,06,90,538, of whom 2,56,75,579 are male voters, 2,50,09,904 are female and 5,055 transgender voters.
Villagers in Hogarti of Bailhongal boycotted voting- On 6 May, a 4-month pregnant women was murdered at Hunasikatti village of Kittur. Her husband Suresh was arrested. Villagers were urging for the arrest of parents and relatives of Suresh as well. The villagers gathered in large numbers at the polling station and boycotted elections, pressing for their demands. The police are trying to convince them to vote.
Siddaramaiah casts vote in Chamundeshwari constituency.
Karnataka school’s unique way to encourage parents to vote– a Karnataka school has adopted a unique way to encourage people to vote. The school has said students will get four extra marks if their parents vote and show their inked finger.
From ‘Pink Booths’ to third generation EVMs, EC strives to make Karnataka Assembly polls more voter friendly- From all-women managed ‘Pink Booths’ to the use of third generation Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Assembly elections in Karnataka are marked by several firsts. The country’s IT hub saw electoral authorities initiate a slew of initiatives targeting a voting percentage of 75.Adding a riot of colours, the EC has set up ethnic polling booths in Mysuru, Chamarajnagar and Uttar Kannada districts, where polling booths match the lifestyle of tribal masses living there. Like in every election, each booth is equipped with facilities such as wheelchairs for the differently-abled so they can exercise their franchise easily.
Dakshina Kannada highest at 47%– After six hours of voting, Bengaluru Urban record the lowest voter turnout at 28 percent while Dakshina Kannada was the highest at 47 percent.
Overall polling percentage at 1 pm is 36.5%: EC– The Election Commission announced that the overall voter turnout across the state stood at 36.5 percent at 1 pm after six hours of polling.
Dakshina Kannada records highest voter turnout with 31%, Bengaluru Urban lowest at 17%– According to state electoral authorities, the highest 31 percent voting was recorded in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts respectively at 11 am while Bengaluru Urban recorded the lowest at 17 percent.
BJP workers stop voting in a booth in Yamakanamardi constituency after EVM found marked with black ink- BJP workers stopped voting in the polling centre at Bharamanahatti village of Yamakanamardi constituency in Belagavi after the EVM was found marked with black ink near the Congress symbol.
‘PM Modi prayed at temples in Nepal to influence voters’– Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot took a shot at PM Modi and slammed his Nepal visit by saying that he planned to pray at temples just to influence voters.
Villagers in Melur constituency upset because they didn’t receive money to vote- At Gerapura village in Melur Assembly constituency the turnout was very thin till almost 9 am. The villagers reportedly were upset that they did not receive money. However, after some leaders rushed in and distributed money, the villagers came to exercise their franchise.
Voting briefly suspended in Yadgir due to technical issues- Voting was suspended briefly at booth number 32 in Yadgir city due to technical issues and was later resumed.
Yeddyurappa mentally disturbed, says Siddaramaiah- Speaking to reporters in Mysuru’s Varuna constituency, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “Yeddyurappa is mentally disturbed. We are very-very confident that Congress party will come back to power with complete majority.
JD(S)-BSP alliance can backfire- Vokkaligas share a frosty relationship with Dalits. Yet, JD(S) has forged an alliance with BSP to extend its vote share beyond one community. But the alliance can backfire. It has pushed several disillusioned BSP voters towards Congress. The alliance has also caused trouble within the BSP cadre. Feeling backstabbed by the decision, booth workers of BSP are asking voters to vote Congress.
Ola and Uber services down in Old Mysore region- Ola and Uber services have been down in the Old Mysore region since Friday. The drivers have reportedly gone back to their villages to vote.
Vote and get free coffee on Bengaluru’s Nrupatunga Road- Youngsters who are casting their votes will get free hot coffee at Nisarga Grand hotel located on the busy Nrupatunga Road, in a bid to encourage the youth to vote.
Voting is duty of every citizen’: Lingayat seer Mate Mahadevi- “Voting is the duty of every citizen. There is more awareness than before. What plans the government has in place should be taken in account before people vote,” Mate Mahadevi, Lingayat seer.
School students campaign for JD(S) candidate in Mandya taluk- School students and children canvassing for Janata Dal (Secular) candidate M Srinivas near the booth at Karasawadi village of Mandya taluk.
Three polling booths shifted in CV Raman Nagar constituency– Three polling stations were shifted in CV Raman Nagar constituency in Bengaluru without prior intimation thus causing inconvenience to the voters of booth numbers 138, 139 and 140.
Poll officials seize 20 autos for bringing voters at Muski in Raichur.
HD Kumaraswamy and wife Anitha cast their vote in Ramanagara-HD Kumaraswamy and wife Anitha after casting their vote in Ramanagara. Kumaraswamy says, ‘We are confident that JDS will cross the magic number on its own’.
Voters in Mandya stay away from voting– The poor infrastructure facilities at their colony has prompted Dalits at Hemmanahalli of Maddur taluk, Mandya district, to stay away from voting. There are nearly 1,000 voters here and of them around 300 of them are Dalit. According to them, their locality has been craving for attention in terms of infrastructure developments. The area has been lacking proper drinking water, drainage, street lights, roads etc. Many of them claim that benefits such as housing schemes and loans of various development corporations are not reaching them.
4 CMs fighting it- One of the interesting aspects of this election is that the four candidates who have served as chief minister of Karnataka are in the fray. Current incumbent Siddaramaiah (Chamundeshwari and Badami), B S Yeddyurappa (Shikaripura), H D Kumaraswamy (Chennapatna and Ramanagara) and Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central).
EC officials seize Rs 50,000 cash near polling booth in Ramanagara- EC officials seize Rs 50,000 cash which was being distributed near polling booth in Ramanagara. Congress worker was allegedly distributing money to voters.
“So far we have received 3 complaints of malfunctioning EVM/VVPAT across the State including from Ramanagara, Chamarajpet and Hebbal. The INC is taking up these issues with the EC,” Brijesh Kalappa, Advocate, Supreme Court of India.
Belgavi- A Muslim woman at Ward No 185 was in tears when police personnel stopped her from going into the booth with her face covered. Piyazeen Mohammed cried when the policewoman asked her to unveil her face so as to confirm she is the same person in the EPIC card, and Piyazeen appeared to be reluctant.
24 percent voting registered till 11am.
Hampi Nagar BJP leader allegedly attacked by Congress workers.
Congress and BJP workers clash in Bengaluru. Incident happened at Vijayanagara seat.
EVM glitches, power outage, missing names from voter’s list mar first two hours of Karnataka polls– In the first two hours since voting began at 7 am, EVM malfunctioning was reported from several booths across the state, including in Bengaluru and Hubbali. A power crisis was also reported from a pollng booth in Rajajinagar constituency. Names of voters were also missing at a few booths. In Belagavi, burqa-clad women were asked to reveal their faces.
Defective EVMs reported from Srirangapatna, polling delayed- A technical error was reported in Melapura village in Srirangapatna due to defective EVMs. Voters who came to the poll early were disappointed as polling that was to start at 7 am was delayed. The error came into light when BJP taluk president T Sridhar came to vote at the booth. At Hebbadihundi, in the same constituency similar problems arose.
Polling percentage stands at 10.6% as of 9.15 am: EC- The Election Commission said the voter turnout across Karnataka stood at 10.6 percent on Saturday morning till 9.15 am. Voting for the Karnataka Assembly election began at 7 am.
The Congress has moved the Election Commission to disqualify Sriramalu, considered to be close to the controversial Reddy brothers, citing sting videos allegedly showing him and G Janardhana Reddy negotiating a bribe to a relative of a former chief justice of India to influence a verdict in a mining case.
While no party in Karnataka has won a second successive term in office since 1985, CM Siddaramaiah believes Congress will break the tradition.
Election office sources said over 55,600 polling stations have been set up, and there would be some auxiliary booths too.
There are more than 4.98 crore voters who are eligible to exercise their franchise to choose their representatives from a field of little over 2,600 candidates.
Polling helding in 222 constituencies of the 224-member assembly- Election has been countermanded in Jayanagara following the death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA BN Vijaykumar and deferred in RR Nagar due to the voter ID card scam.
Update: Voting began for Karnataka Election 2018 on 222 seats out of 224 seats across the state of Karnataka today. People are voting today for the 15th legislative assembly amid tight security and heightened vigil. Voting has been deferred for two constituencies by the Election Commission of India. RR Nagar will vote on May 28 after the Election Commission decided to defer the polls taking cognizance of illegal voter identity cards found in a flat. Polling for Karnataka Election 2018 has been postponed in Jayanagar after the death of BN Vijay Kumar, MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. The state has over 5.07-crore electorate, including 2.62-crore men and 2.5-crore women. New voters are 15,42,000 in the 18-19 age group. Out of the 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, 36 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 15 for Scheduled Tribes (STs). Voting is being held in 58,008 polling stations of 30 districts across the state, with 600 of them as pink booths, manned by all-women personnel, and 28 ethnic booths.
Bengaluru: The Election Commission Friday deferred polls to one assembly constituency in Bengaluru on the eve of voting for the Karnataka assembly polls after 9,896 voter ID cards were found in a flat in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar earlier this week. A police probe supervised by the EC named the Congress candidate, Munirathna, as an accused.
The police probe found that the voter ID cards were obtained from genuine voters in slums to offer them inducements to vote for the Congress candidate and film producer Munirathna. The decision triggered sharp criticism from the BJP, which demanded the arrest of the candidate, while the Congress accused the BJP of attempting to malign the party.
The EC had sent deputy election commissioner Chandrabhushan Kumar to assess the gravity of the situation and the status of the probe. The EC Friday reported that the “illegal collection of EPIC cards is likely to significantly affect the conduct of free and fair election in the constituency’’. The commission also claimed that the polls were being postponed in RR Nagar since it was not possible to return the EPIC cards to the voters before polls on Saturday. Polls in RR Nagar were deferred to May 28.