Rajarajeshwarinagar (R.R. Nagar) went to the polls on Monday, two weeks after being postponed by the Election Commission of India. This was after over 9,000 voter identity cards were found in an apartment in Jalahalli, just days ahead of the polls that were originally scheduled on May 12.
Notwithstanding the morning heat, several people stood in long queues outside the polling stations to cast their votes. By 11 a.m., the voter turnout out was 21%.
At the HMT Higher Primary School in Jalahalli, there were serpentine queues outside the two booths. Several people were seeking the help of polling agents outside the Orchids International School, HMT Colony, to figure out which booth they were assigned to. The polling agents told The Hindu that due to some technical issue in the EVM in one of the booths in the school, polling was delayed by around 10 minutes in the morning. “The elections officials set right the issue and polling has been brisk since then,” said Jagadish Babu, one of the polling agents.
The scene was similar outside the government school in Jalahalli village. Several tables were set up outside the polling station and polling agents sat with printout of the voters’ list. “The morning rush was mainly because people wanted to cast their votes before heading to work. We are expecting more people around lunch time and in the evening before the polling ends,” said Venkatesha C., a polling agent. He also said that though many people had shifted their homes and moved to other parts of the city, their names continued to be on the list.
All the 421 polling booths in the constituency are manned by either the Central Armed Police Force or the Karnataka State Reserve Police, apart from civilian police. There are 14 contestants in the fray, including incumbent MLA Muniratna (Congress), who is one of the accused in the case registered after over 9,000 voter ID cards were found in an apartment;former councillor G.H. Ramachandra (Janata Dal-Secular); and Muniraju Gowda (BJP). Over 4.71 lakh people are eligible to vote.
