Ananth Kumar urges voters to exercise 'duty of democracy'

With the Assembly polls underway across Karnataka, Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde urged voters to exercise the duty and responsibility bestowed upon them by democracy.

Hedge, who cast his vote earlier in the day here in Sirsi, opined that in the days to come, a 'people-friendly government' would be formed.

"It is a great chance in democracy to cast vote and is a responsibility and duty which democracy gives us. It is the chance given by our elders to find the leader who can lead us. We (Bharatiya Janata Party) are trying to build a new government. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are trying to build a new era in Karnataka for the development of all sections . Overall, in Karnataka, voting is going very well," he said.

The polling, which began at 7 am in 58,546 polling stations, each equipped with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), will conclude at 6 pm.

As of 1 p.m., voter turnout recorded is 37 percent.

The election in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru has been postponed.

In Jayanagar, the polling has been deferred due to the death of a BJP candidate, B N Vijay Kumar, on May 4.

Meanwhile, polling in Rajarajeshwari Nagar has been postponed after a bundle of fake voter identity cards was found from a flat in Bengaluru's Jalahalli locality by the Election Commission (EC) officials on May 8.

A total of 2,654 candidates are in the fray and 4.96-crore electorate, including 2.44 crore women, will cast their votes. Over 15 lakh people are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group.

Tight security is in place to ensure smooth and peaceful single-phase polling in 222 constituencies, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 26 in Bengaluru.

The majority mark for any party to form the government is 112.

The counting of votes and announcement of results will take place on Tuesday.