Polling to the Nanjangud and Gundlupet byelections began on a dull note on Sunday morning but picked up quickly, especially in the rural pockets, as the day advanced. The voting in 236 booths in Nanjangud and 250 booths in Gundlupet began at 7 a.m.
In Nanjangud, the overall voting percentage up to 11 a.m. was around 26.11 and went up by 44.98% by 1 p.m. and 60.79% by 3 p.m.. The poll percentage was expected to cross 70-75% after 5 p.m. Enthusiasm among voters resulted in poll percentages crossing 50% by noon.
Around 10 a.m., 113 people had cast their votes at booth number 78 in Golur village, 5 km from the temple town of Nanjangud. Polling at two other booths in the village was also dull at that time. The village has about 3,800 voters.
The Congress and the BJP were seen assisting voters in locating their names, serial and booth numbers. Makeshift tents had copies of voters’ lists to check their names. By and large, the byelection was free of confusion over voters’ names.
Voting picked up after 10.30 a.m. Thanks to the rains in the past few days in polling areas, there was some respite from the blistering heat. The flow of voters became steady by noon.
Polling officers were seen assisting voters and educating them about VVPAT machines that had been introduced for the first time in an election in the State. Flying squads were seen shuttling between the booths overseeing free, fair and incident-free polling. Tight security was in place with the deployment of State police and the Central Paramilitary forces.
Voters were not allowed to stay in the restricted area (100 m from the polling booth) after they cast their votes. The police were constantly asking people to move away from the prohibited zone since the entire proceeding was recorded on video for security reasons.
Compared to Nanjangud, polling was faster in booths located in rural pockets of Gundlupet constituency. At booth number 243 at Madrahalli in Gundlupet taluk, which has about 925 voters, 554 voters (around 59.9%) had cast their votes by 1.45 p.m. Polling was lacklustre in the beginning but picked up later.
At booth number 219, 343 voters out of 952 had voted by 1.30 p.m. Poll officers said voting gained momentum only after noon.
Rain lashed parts of Gundlupet in the afternoon but this did not affect the polling process since the downpour did not last long.
Gundlupet Congress candidate Geetha Mahadeva Prasad visited some booths along NH 212 in Gundlupet town and in a few villages.
Drinking water
Many women stayed at home in Gundlupet as they were occupied with fetching drinking water when their town were witnessing an important election. Some rushed to the polling booths to vote only after completing their household chores.
The town gets drinking water four days a week. If people fail to collect water, they have to wait till the next supply. Locals, standing near a booth on National Highway 212 in Gundlupet town, said one of the reasons for the voting starting on a dull note this morning was the drinking water supply problem.
Booth number 214 in Gundlupet town saw a long queue of women. Till 1.30 p.m., this booth had recorded 376 votes as against 851. At booth number 219, 343 votes had been polled as against 952 until 1.30 p.m.
