The reserve police had to be called in at the polling booth at Badriya School after party workers tried to stop a group of nursing students from voting on Thursday. The party workers opposed the students saying their names did not figure in the voters’ list with them. But the polling officer said that the list available with him had the students’ names.
Unhappy with this, the party workers started protesting. The reserve police arrived and chased away the party men, and in the melee some agitators fell down and were injured. A few of the agitators threw stones on two parked cars near the polling centre, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Mutturaya.
Group sent away
The police chased away two groups of rival party workers near a booth near Jamia Masjid in Kudroli ward. Supporters of the JD(S) and the BJP workers — M. Abdul Aziz (sitting councillor and his brother Anwar Reko respectively — accused each other of ferrying supporters to the booths. The police stationed a reserve police van to avert the trouble.
Skirmish at Mukacheri
Around noon, there was a skirmish between Congress workers and Janata Dal (Secular) workers at Mukacheri, Ullal (ward no. 12). The workers had congregated in front of the booth, and allegations of persuading voters to come to their stall were hurled. An argument ensued. The police, who had stationed a platoon of the Karnataka Reserve Police at Rani Abbakka Circle, swung into action, and dispersed the crowd.
Voters ferried
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers on Thursday accused Congress candidate Nagendra from Jeppinamogaru ward of bringing voters in several vehicles. The CPI(M) workers stopped a few vehicles leading to heated arguments between the two groups. They also alleged election observers and the police had failed to intervene.
CPI(M) candidate Udaya Chandra Rai said since 8 a.m. Congressmen were bringing voters to the polling booth at the primary school in Jeppinamogaru. “We took down the vehicle numbers and called the election officer for the sector four times. He did not answer the calls. We informed the police, but no action was taken. Hence, we had to stop a vehicle,” Mr. Rai said.
The stopping of the vehicle on the narrow road in Jeppinamogaru led the police and the Congress activists rush to the stop. There was heated exchange of the words between the police and CPI(M) activists.
