Mysuru: As the State voted for electing the 15th Assembly on Saturday, Mysuru district recorded 74.05 per cent polling as against 72.08 per cent in 2013. Out of the 24,93,407 voters in the district, 18,60,081 exercised their franchise.

The polling across the district was by and large peaceful. The polling was held in 2,687 booths including 173 auxiliary ones from 7 am to 6 pm on Saturday.

Although voting began on a sedate note, it picked up momentum as the day progressed, with voters of all ages, especially first time voters, turning up in large numbers.

Periyapatna constituency recorded the highest percentage of polling in the district with 85.80 per cent, while Krishnaraja in Mysuru city saw the lowest polling with 58.86 per cent.

K.R. Nagar Constituency came a close second recording 85.79 per cent, followed by Hunsur with 82.73 per cent, H.D. Kote 79.11 per cent, Varuna 78.59 per cent, T. Narsipur 78.08 per cent, Nanjangud 78.16 per cent, Chamundeshwari 76.05 percent, NR 61.43 per cent and Chamaraja 59.18 per cent.

Even before the polling commenced at 7 pm, the polling officials checked the EVM Control Unit  and VVPAT machines for their correct functioning.

The district witnessed maximum voting during the last hour i.e., between 5 pm and 6 pm. The authorities issued tokens to all voters who entered the polling booth before the closing time to enable them to cast their votes.

The poll authorities had clamped prohibitory orders around 200 metre radius of all polling booths to ensure free and fair polls.

Krishnaraja records lowest turnout

KR Assembly segment of the city, recorded the lowest turnout (58.86 per cent) in the district.

The voting in the Constituency which commenced at 7 am, began on a sedate note till 11am. However, voting gained some momentum after 11am, with voters turning up in large numbers at the polling booths.

BJP candidate S.A. Ramdas cast his vote at Chamundipuram’s St. Mary’s School booth, while JD(S) candidate K.V. Mallesh cast his vote at Gnana Ganga School in Kuvempunagar and sitting MLA and Congress candidate M.K. Somashekar cast his vote at Marimallappa College polling booth.

Pramoda Devi Wadiyar and Yaduveer cast their votes in the constituency.

Many nonogenarian and octogenarian voters too cast their ballots.

Amidst peaceful polling, a couple of incidents of fake   voting was reported from Booth No. 112 and Booth No. 175.

As the affected voters insisted on casting vote, the poll authorities allowed them to cast challenging votes, it is learnt.

CM Siddharamaiah and son Dr. Yathindra cast votes

Chief Minister Siddharamaiah cast his vote at his native village Siddaramanahundi in the   taluk coming under Varuna Assembly segment.

Siddharamaiah who is contesting as Congress candidate from Chamundeshwari Assembly segment in Varuna Assembly segment, arrived along with his son Dr. Yathindra, the Congress candidate from Varuna, at Siddaramanahundi at about 1.15 pm and cast his vote along with Dr. Yathindra who too voted.

The CM after exercising  his franchise, had sumptuous lunch with ‘Naatikoli Saaru’ at his long time friend Kempeeraiah’s house.

G.T. Devegowda casts vote

Chamundeshwari MLA and JD(S) candidate G.T. Devegowda, who is taking on CM Siddharamaiah, cast vote along with his family members at his native village Gungral Chatra in the taluk.

Devegowda, who arrived along with his wife Lalitha and daughter Yashoda, were among the first voters to exercise their franchise, soon as the polling began at 7 am.

N.R. Constituency

Voting in the minority community dominated NR Constituency began on a moderate note in the morning, but later picked up momentum as the day progressed. The Constituency witnessed polling percentage of 61. 43 percent, which is 7 percent higher than the turn out in 2013.

Minister and NR Congress candidate Tanveer Sait cast vote along with his family members at Banumaiah Polytechnic College in Udayagiri, while BJP candidate Satheesh (Sandesh Swamy) cast his vote at Savithri Convent  in Ittigegud and Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate B.M. Nataraju cast his vote at JSS School in Raghavendranagar.

Abdulla is contesting as the JD(S) candidate and Abdul Majeed is in the fray as SDPI (Social Democratic Party of            India) candidate.

The Constituency is witnessing a five-cornered contest between Tanveer Sait of Congress, Sandesh Swamy of BJP, Abdulla of JD(S), Abdul Majeed of SDPI and B.M. Nataraju of SP, with many other independent candidates also in the fray.

Chamaraja Constituency

Chamaraja Assembly segment of the city witnessed a four per cent increase in polling as compared to the 2013 assembly poll. The Constituency recorded 59.18 polling percentage as against 55.11 per cent in 2013.

The voting in this Constituency, which has a sizeable number of educated voters, began on a sedate note, but gained         pace later.

Sitting MLA and Congress candidate Vasu cast his vote at Mahajana Public School booth in Jayalakshmipuram.

MP Pratap Simha, a voter      of the Constituency, cast his vote at Nirmithi Kendra booth      in Vijayanagar.

The Constituency is witnessing a four cornered contest between Vasu of Congress, Prof K.S. Rangappa of JD(S), L. Nagendra of BJP and Harish Gowda, a JD(S) rebel leader who is contesting as an independent candidate, with Malavika Gubbivani of Aam Aadmi party also in the fray as a              keen contender.

Hunsur Constituency

Hunsur Assembly segment in the district, record 82.73 per cent polling, beating the previous highest of 79.15 per cent in the 2013 Assembly polls.

The Constituency is witnessing a keen tussle between sitting MLA H.P. Manjunath of Congress and senior leader A. H. Vishwanath of the JD(S).

While Manjunath is aiming a hat-trick of wins, Vishwanath is looking to upset the Congress MLA’s plans of entering the      Assembly for the third consecutive time.

Ramesh Kumar is the BJP candidate here. The BJP does not have a strong base here  and the party is looking for an upset win.

Periyapatna Constituency

Periyapatna Constituency is witnessing a high-pitched battle between the Congress, JD(S) and BJP.  While former Minister and sitting MLA K. Venkatesh is contesting as the Congress candidate, K. Mahadev is the JD(S) candidate and S. Manjunath is in the fray as BJP candidate.

The constituency has witnessed a record polling percentage of 85.80 percent.

H.D. Kote Constituency

H.D. Kote Constituency too witnessed a high voter turnout, with 1,68,640 voters out of the 2.14 lakh electorate casting their votes yesterday. The Constituency recorded a polling percentage of 79.11 percent.

Anil Chikkamadu, son of late MLA Chikkamadu, is the Congress candidate, while former MLA Chikkanna is the JD(S) candidate and former MLC Siddaraju is the BJP candidate. The ST reserved Constituency is witnessing a triangular fight between the three parties.

Nanjangud Constituency

Nanjangud Constituency (SC) witnessed a high turnout of 78.16 per cent.

Although voting began on a sedate note at 7 am, it picked up pace as the day progressed, with the Constituency recording over 60 per cent polling at 4 pm.

Sitting MLA Kalale Keshavamurthy is the Congress candidate, while B. Harshavardhan, son-in-law of senior BJP leader V. Sreenivasa Prasad is the BJP candidate and ZP Member Dayanandamurthy is the     JD(S) candidate.

The Constituency witnessed a by-poll in April last year, after V. Sreenivasa Prasad who was then in Congress, quit the seat after being dropped from Siddharamaiah Ministry.

T. Narsipur (SC)

T. Narsipur (SC) Constituency is witnessing a keen triangular fight between Congress, BJP and JD(S).

The Constituency recorded poll percentage of 78.08 per cent which is almost three per cent higher than in 2013.

PWD and District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa is the Congress candidate, while Ashwin Kumar of JD(S) and Shankar of BJP are his main rivals in this SC reserved Constituency.

Kodagu

Kodagu district too witnessed a high voter turnout, with Madikeri Constituency recording a poll percentage of 77.5 per cent and Virajpet 72.5 per cent.

The district, which has only two Assembly segments, is     witnessing a triangular contest between the Congress, BJP and JD(S). Long  queues were seen at many polling booths across the district, with voters eager to cast their franchise.

Former Minister and sitting MLA Appachhu Ranjan is Contesting as the BJP candidate, while the Congress has fielded senior ZP member K.P. Chandrakala and JD(S) has fielded former Minister and Veteran leader B.A. Jivijaya.

Virajpet

Virajpet Constituency, the only other Assembly segment in the district, is witnessing a triangular fight between sitting MLA and former Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah of BJP, JD(S) candidate Sanketh Poovaiah and Arun Machaiah of Congress.

The Constituency has recorded a high turnout of 72.5 per cent.

The counting of votes for the State Assembly polls will be taken up on May 15 (Tuesday).