The Hindu : Front Page : 89 constituencies go to the polls today

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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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89 constituencies go to the polls today

Special Correspondent

Tight security in place; fate of 953 candidates to be decided

Polling will be held in 18,562 booths between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
1.73 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise

BANGALORE: The political future of 953 candidates will be decided on Saturday when 89 Legislative Assembly constituencies spread across 11 districts in the State go to the polls in the first phase on Saturday amid tight security.

As many as 513 candidates from 25 political parties and 440 independents are in the race in these constituencies.

Polling will be held in 18,562 booths with 1.73 crore voters (over 88 lakh men and 84 lakh women) being eligible to exercise their franchise.

In a terse warning, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) M.N. Vidyashankar said on Friday that whoever attempts to cast a bogus vote will be dealt with under Section 171-D of the Indian Penal Code.

The person who commits the offence will be imprisoned for a year with or without fine.

Polling will be videotaped in hypersensitive booths, while closed-circuit cameras have been installed to prevent bogus voting in booths that are prone to such voting. Polling will be held between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Bangalore city has the highest number of polling stations (5,685) while Mulbagal constituency in Kolar district has the highest number of candidates in the fray (29). Krishnarajanagara (Mysore), Gundlupet (Chamarajanagar), Virajpet (Kodagu), Kunigal (Tumkur) and Yeshwanthpur (Bangalore Urban) constituencies have the lowest number of candidates (five each).

The districts that go to the polls on Saturday are Tumkur, Chickballapur, Kolar, Bangalore Rural, areas under the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, Ramanagara, Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu, Mysore and Chamarajanagar. Of the 18,562 polling booths, 6,252 booths have been classified as hypersensitive and 3,500 as sensitive.

Nearly 58,000 police personnel, including those from the paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. One mobile police squad has been provided for every 20 booths in each constituency.

A close contest is on the cards among candidates of the Congress, the Janata Dal (S) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The three major parties have fielded candidates in the 89 constituencies.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded candidates in 86 followed by the Samajwadi Party in 47, the Janata Dal (United) in 24, Sarvodaya Karnataka in 14 and Lok Paritran in 11 constituencies. Some other parties have fielded candidates in a few constituencies.

The stakes are high for the Congress, which is making a determined bid to regain its lost base in the old Mysore region amid stiff opposition by the Janata Dal (S).

The Congress won 28 seats in the region in the 2004 elections.

The Janata Dal(S), which made big inroads into several Congress bastions, bagged 36 constituencies in this Vokkaliga dominated belt. The BJP won 15 seats.

For all candidates, particularly those of the Congress and the BJP, the focus has been on Bangalore city, which accounts for 28 seats out of the 89.

The Congress, the BJP and the Janata Dal(S) have accorded special attention to address infrastructure bottlenecks in the State capital.

Two women candidates are set to play a major role in the first phase as they take on the Janata Dal (S) candidate and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and the former Minister H.D. Revanna.

In Ramanagara, Mr. Kumaraswamy is pitted against the Congress candidate Mamata Nichani, daughter of the former Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde.

In Holenarsipur, Mr. Revanna is fighting an electoral battle against S.G. Anupama of the Congress and daughter-in-law of Puttaswamy Gowda, former MP.

Over a dozen former Ministers, including the former Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, are in the fray in the constituencies where polling will be held on Saturday.

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