LS polls: Over 22% polling in 14 LS seats in Karnataka till 11 am

An estimated 22.34 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 11 am during the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies in Karnataka on Friday.

Long queues were seen at many polling booths, as people, especially senior citizens and morning walkers, came out to vote during the early hours of the voting, which began at 7 am. According to election officials, the voter percentage till 11 am was about 22.34 per cent.

Out of 14 segments that are going to polls today, highest turnout of 30.98 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 29.03 per cent, and the least 19.21 per cent in Bangalore Central. The turnout was 19.81 per cent in Bangalore South, and 19.78 per cent in Bangalore North.

In the first phase, the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar. Besides the three, the segments where elections are being held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state back then, had secured just one seat each in these 14 segments.

The BJP had won in 11 and ensured the victory of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda along with wife Chennamma exercised their franchise at Paduvalahippe village in Hassan district, while his son and former CM H D Kumaraswamy along with wife Anitha and son Nikhil cast vote at Kethaganahalli in Ramanagara district.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah voted at his native village Siddaramanahundi in Mysuru district. RSS Sarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale cast his ballot at Sheshadripuram in Bengaluru. Rajya Sabha member and 'Dharmadhikari' of the Dharmasthala, Veerendra Heggade, Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji of the Pejavara Mutt, Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji of Sri Suttur Math,and Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji of Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, were among the early voters. Bangalore South MP and candidate Tejasvi Surya, Hassan candidate and MP Prajwal Revanna, also several film personalities including actor Ravichandran, Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Duniya Vijay and Dhananjay also exercised their democratic right.

According to officials, 101-year-old Narayana Rao and his wife Lakshmi, aged 92, voted in Bengaluru's Padmanabhanagar. In separate incidents, two brides -- one each from Chikkamagaluru and Madikeri -- dressed in their wedding attire exercised her franchise before reaching the marriage venue in the morning. A groom cast his vote in Chamarajanagar district before rushing to tie the nuptial knot.