Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje/Spoorthi Ullal/Abhijith N Kolpe/Justin D'Silva/Mohan Kuthar/Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru/Udupi
Mangaluru/Udupi, May 10: After days of intense campaigning that saw a whole lot of accusations and counter-accusations, controversies and star campaigners, Karnataka went to polls on Wednesday May 10.
Voters queued up in front of their respective polling booths in large numbers in Dakshina Kannada (DK) and Udupi districts as polling for the Karnataka assembly elections began at 7 am.
In Dakshina Kannada (DK), the total number of registered voters stands at 1,781,389, out of which 1,351,582 individuals exercised their right to vote. Among the voters, 870,991 were men, and the total number of votes cast by men was 658,761. On the other hand, there were 910,314 registered female voters, and the total number of votes cast by women was 692,803. The transgender community had 84 registered voters, with a total of 18 votes cast.
The voters' turnout was 75.87% turnout in Dakshina Kannada and 78.46% in Udupi at 7 pm.
The voters' turnout was 75.87% in Dakshina Kannada at 7 pm with Beltangady accounting 80.33%, Moodbidiri 76%, Mangaluru North 71.6%, Mangaluru South 64.89%, Mangaluru 77.38%, Bantwal 80.27%, Puttur 79.91% and Sullia 78.53%.
The voters' turnout was 78.46% in Udupi district at 5 pm with Byndoor accounting 77.84%, Kundapur 78.94%, Udupi 75.87%, Kaup 78.79%, and Karkala 81.30%.
Meanwhile, some polling in some booths in Mangaluru faced an unexpected twist as the election process continued beyond the scheduled closing time of 6 pm. The incomplete voting was witnessed in 88 polling booths of the Mangaluru North Constituency, causing concern among voters and officials alike.
One of the polling booths experiencing prolonged queues was the Bondel Women's Polytechnic College booth, where voters patiently stood in line, determined to exercise their democratic right. In a bid to streamline the process and ensure fairness, polling officials at the booth issued tokens to voters, allowing them to retain their place in the queue while easing congestion and facilitating a smooth voting experience.
The Election Commission has been alerted about the situation, and officials are working diligently to address the issue promptly. Measures are being taken to expedite the voting process in the affected polling booths and ensure that every eligible voter gets an opportunity to cast their ballot. Further updates are awaited as authorities make efforts to rectify the situation.
The voters' turnout was 68.93% turnout in Dakshina Kannada and 73.75% in Udupi at 5 pm.
The voters' turnout was 68.93% in Dakshina Kannada at 5 pm with Beltangady accounting 73.64%, Moodbidiri 70.47%, Mangaluru North 67.23%, Mangaluru South 59.31%, Mangaluru 69.5%, Bantwal 74.71%, Puttur 74.96% and Sullia 62.5%.
The voters' turnout was 73.75% in Udupi district at 5 pm with Byndoor accounting 71.83%, Kundapur 75.61%, Udupi 71.26%, Kaup 71.16%, and Karkala 75.54%.
The voters' turnout was 56.35% in Dakshina Kannada and 60.27% in Udupi at 3 pm.
The voters' turnout was 56.35% in Dakshina Kannada at 3 pm with Beltangady accounting 59.02%, Moodbidiri 57.38%, Mangaluru North 55.15%, Mangaluru South 49.29%, Mangaluru 56.8%, Bantwal 53.26%, Puttur 61.45% and Sullia 59.95.
The voters' turnout was 60.27% in Udupi district at 3 pm with Byndoor accounting 55.72%, Kundapur 61.5%, Udupi 58.71%, Kaup 62.08%, and Karkala 62.07%.
The voters' turnout was 44.16% in Dakshina Kannada and 47.79% in Udupi at 1 pm.
The voters' turnout was 44.16% in Dakshina Kannada at 1 pm with Beltangady accounting 44.82%, Moodbidiri 44.45%, Mangaluru North 43.43%, Mangaluru South 38.44%, Mangaluru 43.85%, Bantwal 46.53%, Puttur 47.47% and Sullia 45.1.
The voters' turnout was 47.79% in Udupi district at 1 pm with Byndoor accounting 45.43%, Kundapur 49.5%, Udupi 46.49%, Kaup 49%, and Karkala 49.13%.
The voters' turnout was 28.16% in Dakshina Kannada and 30.26% in Udupi at 11 am.
The voters' turnout was 28.16% in Dakshina Kannada at 11 am with Beltangady accounting 28.89%, Mangaluru 26.54%, Mangaluru North 27.31%, Mangaluru South 25.57%, Moodbidiri 27.52%, Puttur 29.79%, Sullia 30.52% and Bantwal 29.51%.
The voters' turnout was 30.26% in Udupi district at 11 am with Byndoor accounting 27.06%, Kundapur 32.14%, Udupi 29.44%, Kaup 28.5%, and Karkala 32.7%.
The voters' turnout was 12.47% in Dakshina Kannada and 13.28% in Udupi at 9 am.
In Dakshina Kannada district, there was a turnout of 12.01% in Beltangady, 12.66% in Moodbidri, 12.32% in Mangaluru North, 11.95% in Mangaluru South, 15.8% in Mangaluru, 11.24% in Bantwal, 13.33% in Puttur and 10.76% in Sullia at 9 am.
In Udupi district, there was a turnout of 10.81% in Byndoor, 14.17% in Kundapur, 13.45% in Udupi taluk, 13.82% in Kaup and 14.61% in Karkala at 9 am.
Mary Vas (97) former nursing superintendent at Govt Wenlock hospital
Mangaluru South Congress candidate J R Lobo cast his vote along with family.
Polling began peacefully throughout Ullal taluk. Civilians cast their votes standing in queue. BJP candidate Satish Kumpala partook in the special pooja at Someshwara temple and Kumpala Balakrishna Mandira before casting his vote. He cast his vote along with his wife and daughter at Kumpala booth.
BJP candidate Yashpal Suvarna cast his vote. He was the first person to cast vote in Udupi government school for girls at 7 am. Suvarna said that he was confident of winning and said that he wanted an opportunity to serve people for the coming five years.
Congress candidate Prasadraj Kanchan arrived to booth near Sanyasi Mata of Badanidiyoor, along with his wife and sister and cast his vote.
Kundapur Congress candidate Dinesh Hegde cast his vote in Molahalli govt primary school.
Kaup Congress candidate Vinay Kumar Sorake cast his vote in Udupi girl's governemnt college.
Kundapur BJP candidate Kiran Kumar Kodgi cast his vote in Amasbailu Machhattu.
State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel cast his vote at St Aloysius high school, Ladyhill.
Mangaluru South BJP candidate Vedavyas Kamath cast his vote at Gandhinagar school, Urwa.
Mangaluru constituency Congress candidate U T Khader cast his vote at Jaradagudde at Boliyar.
BJP candidate Gururaj Gantihole cast his vote at Kanchikan polling booth. Gururaj Gantihole, who was active in campaigning right from the day he got BJP party ticket, arrived to the polling booth on the morning of Wednesday and did his primary duty.
Congress candidate of Byndoor constituency K Gopal Poojary cast his vote at Kanyana. Gopal Poojary arrived along with his wife and family members to the polling booth. He was the first person to cast his vote in Kanyana school polling booth. An issue of insufficient light near the EVM machine was informed by Gopal Poojary was brought to the notice of the officials.
A bride, all dressed up for her wedding, cast her vote before getting married at Avaralu Mattu polling booth in Palimaru gram panchayat of Kaup legislative constituency. Bride Melita Suvares went to church after casting her vote.
Mary Vas, a 97-year-old woman from Kambala ward of Mangaluru south legislative assembly constituency also cast her vote. She is a retired nursing superintendent of Wenlock hospital. She said, “The only right we have is to cast vote. I have done the same,” and appealed everyone to cast their votes.
NRI Praveen Kumar Shetty cast his vote in Vakwadi.
Deputy commissioner Kurma Rao M casted his vote at Ajjarkad Vivekananda government model higher primary school.
The fate of 2,163 candidates will be sealed in the ballot boxes in the day. The counting will be held on May 13.