Bangalore: An estimated 2.43 crore electorates will test Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity as 14 out of 28 constituencies in Karnataka go to the polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, Thursday amid tight security.
“Elaborate arrangements have been made across the state’s central and southern regions for free and fair polling in 30,164 booths spread over 14 parliamentary seats from 7.00am to 6.00pm amid tight security,” state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar told this agency here Wednesday.
The 14 constituencies are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga (SC), Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajnagar (SC), Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikkaballapur and Kolar (SC). Polling in the remaining 14 seats will be held in the west coast and northern regions of the state in the third phase April 23.
Of the 2.43 crore electorates for Thursday’s polling, 1.23 crore are male and 1.20 crore are female voters who will decide the fate of 241 candidates, including 15 women and 133 Independent nominees.
The Congress and its ruling ally Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) have not fielded any woman candidate for Thursday’s polling for want of winnable candidates, though both have one woman candidate each for the third phase of polling scheduled for April 23.
According to Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Neelamani Raju, Bangalore Rural, Hassan, Mandya and Tumkur are the vulnerable constituencies where additional police forces have been deployed for peaceful and smooth conduct of polling.
“Of the total booths, 16 per cent or 4,826 are considered critical in the four seats identified by the police. We are deploying about 91,000 police personnel on election duty in two phases April 18 and April 23 to ensure peaceful polling and maintain law and order,” Raju said in a statement here.
Among the constituencies, Bangalore North has the highest number of 31 candidates, followed by 25 in Bangalore South and 22 each in Bangalore Central, Mandya and Mysore.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, of the 14 seats which go to polls Thursday, the BJP and the Congress won six each while the JD-S won two.
Unlike in the past elections, the main parties — BJP and Congress – are locked in straight contests this time, as the latter has entered into a pre-poll tie-up with the JD-S to field joint candidates as part of their seat-sharing arrangements.