• 44 polling centres     
• Voting to end at 4 pm     
• Counting on June 6

Mysore/Mysuru: The biennial election for the Legislative Council seat from the South Teachers Constituency began this morning at 44 centres spread across the Constituency, which encompasses the districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar.

Voting began at 8 am at 12 centres in Mysuru city with moderate participation initially but gained momentum as the day progressed.

11 in fray

While there are 11 candidates in the fray, the Constituency is witnessing a direct contest between Congress candidate Marithibbegowda, who has held the seat for four consecutive terms spanning 24 years and BJP-JD(S) coalition NDA candidate K. Vivekananda, who is contesting for the first time.

The other nine candidates include former MLA Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, Dr. H.R. Mahesh

of BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), M. Nagendrababu, Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kadamba Naa Ambarish, Nagamallesh, Ningaraju S. Shankarapura, former MLC K.C. Puttasiddashetty and Raju K. Siddaianapura, all independents.

The South Teachers Constituency has a total of 21,549 voters, including 11,998 men, 9,550 women and 1 other. Mysuru district boasts the highest number of voters with 10,439, constituting nearly half of the electorate, followed by Mandya with 5,403, Hassan with 3,526 and Chamarajanagar with 2,181 voters.

Voting is conducted using ballot paper method and voters are required to exercise their franchise by marking their preferences for each candidate in English numerals only (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).

44 voting centres

There are a total of 44 voting centres in the Constituency,

with Mysuru district hosting 20 centres (including 12 within the city), followed by 10 in Hassan, 9 in Mandya and 5 in Chamarajanagar.

The voting centres in Mysuru city included Ramakrishna Vidya Kendra in Ramakrishnanagar, Indira High School and D.Ed College in Sharadadevinagar, Government PU College in People’s Park, Nazarbad, Government Higher Primary School in Old Krishnamurthypuram, Kanaka Gurupeetha College of Education in Kuvempunagar, Mysore West Lions Sevaniketana School in Gokulam, Sri Kalaniketana School of Arts in Vijayanagar Second Stage, Vidyavardhaka Law College on Seshadri Iyer Road, GSSS Nursery and Primary School in Siddartha Layout, St. Philomena’s Lower Primary Girls School on B.N. Road and Government Model Higher Primary School in Rajendranagar.

Tight security

Tight security was provided by the Police at all centres to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls. The Constituency recorded a poll percentage of 38.32 in the first four hours of voting (from 8 am to 12 noon). The polling was entirely peaceful, with no untoward incidents reported until noon.

Congress candidate Marithibbegowda and NDA candidate K. Vivekananda visited Vidyavardhaka Law College centre on Seshadri Iyer Road to observe the voting process firsthand. Although both candidates arrived at the same time, they did not exchange greetings.

The polls will conclude at 4 pm, after which the ballot boxes from all centres in the four districts of the Constituency will be transported under tight security to Maharani’s Science College along JLB Road, where they will be stored in Strong Rooms.  The counting of votes will commence on June 6.

Five other Constituencies

Additionally, five other Legislative Council Constituencies are holding elections today: Bengaluru Graduates, North-East Graduates, South-East Teachers, South-West Teachers and South-West Graduates.

The last two Constituencies, which cover districts including Kodagu, Chikkamagalur, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga, as well as parts of Davanagere, fall under the Mysuru Revenue Division.

The South-West Graduates Constituency, with 85,089 voters, reported a poll percentage of 33.49, while the South-West Teachers Constituency, with 23,402 voters, witnessed a poll percentage of 37.7  until 12 noon.