Karnataka

Tight security for today’s polling in 66 Karnataka seats

BANGALORE: The Election Commission has made all arrangements to ensure free and fair polling during the second phase of elections in 66 Legislative Assembly constituencies spread across 10 districts in Karnataka on Friday.

Polling will be held amid tight security.

Over 1.10 crore voters (55.24 lakh men and 55.02 lakh women) will decide the political future of 372 candidates from 15 political parties apart from 218 independents who are in the fray.

Polling will be held in 12,271 booths in Raichur, Koppal, Uttara Kannada, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davangere, Shimoga, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada districts.

As many as 3,754 booths have been classified as hyper-sensitive and 4,282 have been classified as sensitive.

In the second phase, the highest number of candidates contesting is from Bellary city (31) while Karkala constituency in Dakshina Kannada has the lowest with only two.

There are 16 women candidates are in the fray.

The second phase is going to witness the “battle of the educated” with several lawyers and medical doctors, post-graduates and graduates remaining in the fray.

The BJP has fielded its candidates in all 66 constituencies followed by the Congress in 64, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 63, Janata Dal(S) in 61, Samajwadi Party (SP) in 31 and Janata Dal(U) in 22 constituencies.

Special security arrangements have been made in naxal-infested areas in Udupi, Shimoga and Chikmagalur districts, where CPI (Maoists) have given a call for poll boycott.

Nearly 56,000 security personnel, including those of the Anti-Naxal Force, have been deployed in these areas. In all, 650 mobile squads have been formed for the second phase.

The first phase of elections was held on May 10 (89 constituencies). The third and final phase would be on May 22.

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