Moderate voting till post noon in Bengaluru's Jayanagar

Moderate polling is underway in Bengaluru's Jayanagar constituency amid tight security, said an election official on Monday.

"Over 34 per cent voting has been registered till 1 p.m. in all the 216 polling booths in the constituency. Polling has been going on in a peaceful manner barring some EVM glitches which were rectified," Returning Officer Mamatha told IANS here.

The constituency has a total of 312,252 registered voters.

"Polling, which began at 7 a.m., started on a brisk note and progressed moderately, registering 10 per cent voting till 9 a.m. and 22 per cent till 11 a.m.," the official added.

Polling in the seat was countermanded following the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contestant B.N. Vijaya Kumar on May 4.

The BJP nominated Kumar's younger brother B.N. Prahlad as its candidate.

The withdrawal of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) contestant Kalegowda from the fray on June 5 in support of the Congress nominee Sowmya Reddy has made the electoral battle a straight contest between the two national parties.

In all, 19 candidates including nine Independents are in the fray. The other woman candidate in the contest is Nayeema Khanum of Praja Raita Raajya Paksha.

The votes will be counted on Wednesday.

--IANS

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