Will win the poll, says Somanna

August 18, 2009 06:41 pm | Updated 07:12 pm IST - Bangalore:

V. Somanna, Muzrai and Housing Minister and BJP candidate for the Govindarajanagar bypoll, said on Tuesday that he would win the election irrespective of what others did.

A visibly upset Mr. Somanna was addressing a gathering near a polling booth at Gangondanahalli. There was confusion in the area, a Muslim pocket, over missing names, with contrary claims on the numbers.

While speaking earlier to journalists near a booth in Anubhavanagar, he seemed less abrasive. He described himself as an "open book" and a "workaholic" who was fighting his ninth elections (including municipal and assembly elections) from the same segment. "I will bow down to the verdict of the people," he said. He would "reveal all" about his Congress rival Priya Krishna’s assets once the elections were over.

Uneven voting pattern

Voting in the Govindarajanagar constituency was brisk in the lower middle class and revenue pockets in the morning and remained sluggish in the middle-class layouts, with no disruptions or violence.

Polling in many centres started only after a "mock" election was done before the representatives of the 27 candidates to check the working of the Electronic Voting Machines.

Though there were some complaints about names missing from the electoral rolls – especially in Pattegarapalya, Gangondanahalli, Moodalapalya and Muneshwara Nagar – they were not comparable to the magnitude of complaints during the Lok Sabha elections. In some booths, the micro observers helped the voters in finding their names in the updated roll.

Indifference

Indifference of voters in the middle and upper-middle class areas was evident in M.C. Layout. "We are really fed up with the attitude of voters here. They are not showing an inclination to vote," said an exasperated party worker.

Swine flu effect

The effect of swine flu was visible. Some polling officers wore masks, a commodity evidently in short supply. Complained an election officer at Muneshwaranagar: "Our colleagues fought with each other to get the mask. The masks allotted for six of us were taken away by others."

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