Udupi-Chikmagalur records 74 p.c voting

Polling was totally peaceful, says Returning Officer

Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and wife Blossom waiting to cast their vote in Udupi.

The Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday saw a voter turnout of 73.94 per cent, according to tentative figures provided by Returning Officer Muddu Mohan here. The polling was by and large peaceful. In the 2012 parliamentary by-poll for the constituency, the turnout was 68.10 per cent.

Mr. Mohan told The Hindu that the polling was completely peaceful and no untoward incident had been reported from anywhere in the Udupi-Chikmamgalur constituency.

EVMs replaced

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had malfunctioned in four places in Chikmagalur district and they were immediately replaced, he said. There was some confusion at LVP Higher Primary School booth in Udupi because the names of some voters name did not figure in the voter’s list. Their names had been shifted to the nearby Subaramanya Nagar booth, where they went and voted.

Maoist-hit areas

The turnout in the Maoist-affected villages such as Sitanadi, Nadpal, Someshwara, Nadambur, Shedimane and Machattu was even more brisk. The central paramilitary force and Karnataka State Reserve Police kept a tight vigil over the polling stations in the Maoist-affected villages.