Moderate turnout in Mandya, Bangalore Rural LS bypoll

The polling percentage was 43 in Mandya and 39 in Bangalore Rural till 4 PM, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha told PTI

Moderate voter turnout marked the Lok Sabha bypoll today in Mandya and Bangalore Rural, which saw a direct fight between the ruling Congress and JD-S in Karnataka.

The polling percentage was 43 in Mandya and 39 in Bangalore Rural till 4 PM, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha said. “Voting was completely peaceful. Polling has not been brisk and polling percentage will not be high,” he said.

Bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of N Cheluvaryaswamy (Mandya) and H D Kumaraswamy (Bangalore Rural), both from JD-S of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who quit after being elected to the Legislative Assembly in the elections held in May.

The BJP backed JD-S in the two segments and did not field candidates. The Congress fielded actor Ramya and D K Suresh, brother of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, while C S Puttaraju and Anit Kumaraswamy, wife of H D Kumaraswamy, jumped into the fray, from Mandya and Bangalore Rural, respectively.

Both JD-S and Congress had resorted to fierce campaigning in the two segments.