Over 20% voting in Karnataka's 2 Assembly seats(11 a.m.)

Over 20 per cent voting was registered in Karnataka's two Assembly segments -- Chincholi and Kundgol -- in the first four hours till 11 a.m. on Sunday, officials said.

Despite a hot day, 23.12 per cent polling was recorded in Chincholi till 11 a.m., up from 7.88 per cent till 9 a.m., a poll official told IANS here.

In the Kundgol Assembly seat by-election, 21.06 per cent polling was registered till 11 a.m., from 9.59 per cent till 9 a.m.

"Voting has been by and large peaceful under tight security, barring a few complaints of glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) delaying or holding up the election process in a few polling booths in both the Assembly constituencies," said the official.

Of the total 241 booths in the two Assembly constituencies, 60 have been declared critical in Chincholi and 25 in Kundgol.

"A total of 1,016 polling and police personnel have been deployed for security," added the official.

Of the total 3.83 lakh electorate are casting their vote, 1,93,869 are in Chincholi and 1,89,313 in Kundgol.

As many as 25 candidates, including four women are in the fray for the twin bypolls.

There are 17 candidates in Chincholi in Kalaburagi district and eight in Kundgol in Dharwad district.

Prominent candidates for Chincholi are Avinash Umesh Jadhav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subhash V. Rathod of the Congress and Gautam Bomnalli of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Avinash is the son of former Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav, whose resignation from the seat necessitated the by-election.

In Kundgol, Congress candidate Kusumavati Channabasappa is pitted against S.I. Chikkanagoudar of the BJP. The remaining six, including a woman, are Independent candidates.

Death of Congress Minister for Municipalities C.S. Shivalli on March 22 necessitated the bypoll. The Congress has fielded his widow Kusumavati to retain the seat on sympathy vote.

A three-time legislator, Chikkanagoudar lost to Shivalli by a narrow margin of 633 votes in the May 2018 state Assembly elections.

Counting of votes will take place on May 23, along with that of 28 Lok Sabha seats, for which polling was held in two phase on April 18 and April 23.

--IANS

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