Date:25/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/25/stories/2008052555190100.htm

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Poll results expected by 10.30 a.m.

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Thanks to technological advancement and the use of electronic voting machines in the three-phase Assembly elections in the State, the results will start coming in within two and a half hours after the counting process commences at 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Sources in the Election Commission told The Hindu that the announcement of results will be on “real-time basis”. In other words, even as the Returning Officer announces the election results in the respective constituency, it will be simultaneously announced by the commission and will be available on its website. All 48 counting centres have been directly connected to the commission.

The counting of votes will be held under the supervision of a senior Union Government official posted at each constituency.

The results of all 224 constituencies will be announced by 2 p.m. unless there is a demand for re-counting. Election trends will also be available on the commission’s website.

Prominent candidates in the fray include the former Chief Ministers N. Dharam Singh (Jewargi), H.D. Kumaraswamy (Ramanagara), B.S. Yeddyurappa and S. Bangarappa (Shikaripur), apart from the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president M. Mallikarjun Kharge (Chitapur), former Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil (Gadag) and Union Minister M.H. Ambareesh.