BJP, JD(S) and Congress locked in triangular contest

Mysore/Mysuru: Voting for Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Ward 18 (Yadavagiri) by-poll began at 7 am today on a sedate note as voters seemed less enthusiastic to exercise their franchise. Polling will be held till 5 pm in 11 booths across the Ward. Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) are being used to cast votes.

The by-poll to the Ward, which is reserved for ST Category, was necessitated after the High Court annulled the election of BJP candidate Guru Vinayak over fake caste certificate row. The Ward falls under Chamaraja Assembly segment, represented by L. Nagendra of the BJP.

The Ward comprises Yadavagiri, Manjunathapura, Medar Block localities and Railway Quarters. While there were more number of voters in Polling Booths at Manjunathapura and Medar Block, Booths in Yadavagiri witnessed fewer number of voters in the morning.

The by-poll is witnessing a triangular contest, with the BJP fielding R.V. Ravindra, while the Congress has fielded Ravindra Kumar and Swamy is the JD(S) candidate. Congress candidate Ravindra Kumar could not vote in the Ward as he is a resident of Siddarthanagar while BJP candidate Ravindra voted at a Booth near Akashvani Circle and JD(S) candidate Swamy at a Booth in Manjunathapura. 

It is interesting to note that though the Congress and JD(S) are ruling partners in the MCC, they are contesting the by-poll separately, while the BJP is looking to retain the seat. Though BJP leader Shivaprakash too had filed his nomination papers as a rebel candidate, the party leaders, who are keen to retain the Ward, managed to convince him to withdraw from the fray. 

There are 11,877 eligible voters, including 5,793 men and 6,084 women in the Ward. The authorities have set up 11 Polling Booths across the Ward with five of them categorised as hypersensitive. The polling is by far peaceful, with no untoward incidents reported. 

The Police have provided tight security around the Polling Booths. Returning Officer Shive Gowda said that an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, a Head Constable and a Constable has been deployed to provide security for each hyper-sensitive Booth while adequate Police personnel were also posted at each normal Polling Booth. Videographers were deployed at each hyper-sensitive Booth. 

The counting of votes will be taken up on Feb. 11.