6.05 p.m. All the enthusiasm stays on social media
Likes, shares, posts and tweets seem to far exceed in enthusiasm than the ground reality around polling booths in the city. The hashtag, BBMPelections, trended for most of the day, even reaching number three, according to Twitter Trends.
Twitter analytical tool, Topsy, estimates more than 15,000 tweets featured the term BBMP or BBMP elections. The terms Bengaluru and Bangalore featured in more than 1.5 lakh tweets – a majority of them referring to these elections.
It is perhaps commenting on the trends seen on Twitter, that a user claimed that if voting for the city involved clicking a button, the IT city would have seen a “better” turnout.
Several voters could not vote as their names did not feature on the voter's list. (Read the story here: >the case of the missing voter ) Others faced another issue: >someone had already voted in their names .
Cover your noses and vote
Voters in Nanjappa Agrahara ward (No: 140, Booth: 28) in Chamarajpet were surprised to find their polling station in a burial ground. They had to cover their noses and enter the booth due to the smell.
BBMP election held on the premises of Hindu Cremation ground in Chamarajpet in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photos: Bhagya Prakash K.
4.55 p.m. At Jakkasandra ward, of the 1053 voters, 560 cast their vote. A lot of last-minute voters seen rushing in. Manjunath C.V., a college student who was also volunteering to help with the elections, finally managed to cast his vote with a few minutes to spare.
At 4 p.m, voting stood at 38 per cent.
Last minute voters urge the police to allow them entry at Jakkasandra. Photos: K.C. Deepika
4.30 p.m. Srinivas Reddy A.P., a resident of HSR layout who cast his vote, says that elections should never be held on a weekend. "Most people head out on weekend getaways," he adds.
4.00 p.m. > Frock, cake or frying pan? Bizarre symbols smaller parties and independents are forced to choose from.
3.30 p.m. In Veerannana Palya, where residents had said they would boycott polls, candidates have given an undertaking saying their drinking water issue will be solved. Residents turned up to vote subsequently.
2.55 p.m. At Pulakeshi ward Fatima Girls' High School, a polling booth for 666 voters caters to a nearby apartment complex that has six blocks. Barely 24 per cent voting has been recorded here so far. Officials said there was no interest at all among residents.
2.40 p.m. Party workers having lunch on footpath near the polling booth at Peenya Industrial Area. Photo: G. Sampath Kumar
2.20 p.m. Residents of Eranapalya (Ward No. 129) decide to boycott polls due to poor infrastructure, reports Tanu Kulkarni.
Residents of Eranapalya ward no 129 decided to boycott polls due to poor infrastructure >@BloreConnect>#BBMPelections>pic.twitter.com/ibT2hxO7R2
— Tanu (@TanuKul) >August 22, 2015
2.15 p.m. In a maiden initiative, live streaming from polling stations was used on Saturday for the BBMP elections at the Mahadevapura Constituency in East Bengaluru. >Read the full story here
BJP lodges complaint with SEC against 13 returning officers for their mobiles being switched off .
2.04 p.m. In K.J. Halli ward, Gem school has two booths, one sensitive and hypersensitive. Rooms are too small. In the morning there was an an argument between agents for seating. The police had to calm them and put two additional seats in the small room. There are 13 candidates running, and at least 9 agents sitting in each room, reports Mohit M. Rao. Polling here is around 30%
2.00 p.m.: Agriculture Minister Krishnabyre Gowda has accused BJP workers and Revenue officials of including 6,000 fake voters in Jakkur ward, reports Aditya Bharadwaj.
1.35 p.m. "As of now, around 21.2 % voters have voted in the city. Usually the voter turn out is expected to improve after 11 a.m. But it has dipped since 11 a.m. Rains in parts of the city may have dampened the spirits of voters. The trend seems that the voters of the city haven't responded well. I call upon all the voters to come out and cast their vote atleast now. It has stopped raining now," said P.N. Sreenivasachary, State Election Commissioner.
1.20 p.m. 'The biriyani is part of the deal'
Residents of Nayandahalli on Mysore Road wore big smiles as hundreds of packets containing chitranna and biriyani were distributed in the area. No one complained since all political parties distributed food to woo voters. A majority of the residents are daily wage workers, and have been asked not to go to work promising that they would be paid a day's wage. And supplying food packets is also part of the offer, said a resident.
1.20 p.m. 4 persons arrested from ward 88, Jeevanbhima Nagaar, for distributing cash to voters. An amount of Rs. 2.01 lakh was seized.
1.15 p.m. EVMs only in Kannada an issue at St. Thomas school too, another polling station in Mahadevpura.
Aparna Shinde, a resident of Whitefield for seven years, said she voted for the candidate who was educationally most qualified. Roads or the lack of it is what bothers her the most, said Ms. Shinde, adding that things have taken a turn for the worse
12.20 p.m. No facilities for the differently abled, aged: Senior citizens and physically challenged persons were put to hardship on Saturday at most polling booths in the city that lacked wheelchairs. Narayanappa, who was injured and is a diabetic, had to be carried inside by the autorickshaw driver as there was no wheelchair at the polling booth in Garudacharpalya. The police could only facilitate his entry skipping the queue. >Read more here.
Photos: K.C. Deepika
Residents line up to cast votes at Garudacharpalya. Photo: Sudhakara Jain
12.10 p.m. Missing voter: Srinivas Jayaram Das, 42, found that his name was not on the list. He has been voting for the past 20 years and interestingly, his house is right opposite the polling booth.
11.40 a.m. From the youngest to the oldest, they all came to cast their vote. Kanikamma, aged nearly 89, says she has never missed an election.
Kanikamma, aged nearly 89, casts her vote. Photo: Arivarasu Mani
At Vidyaranyapura, an 81-year-old lashes out at the Election Commission for not providing weelchairs to seniors and persons with disabilities.
11.25 a.m. For many, this is the first election in which they are eligible to vote.
First-time voter at Magadi ward. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
11.13 a.m. Whitefield residents say that the names on the EVM were only in Kannada, making it difficult for sections of people to make an informed vote. Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising said that voters had also complained that when they asked polling officials to help out voters by reading out names, they only read out names of candidates of major political parties, leaving out the Independents. "There are a few Independent candidates in the area supported by the Bangalore Political Action Committee. This is bias," she alleged. Some voters alleged that polling officials asked them to learn Kannada in certain booths, she added.
The >different linguistic groups in Bengaluru have played a major role in elections.
11.05 a.m. Voting in candlelight! With no power at Vijina Pura ward, citizens cast their votes in the dark.
10.52 a.m. Meanwhile, start ups in the city go all out to encourage citizens to vote, with some offering free lunches to those who vote and others offering rides to polling booths.
10.43 a.m. Only 97 people have voted so far in Shantalanagar ward, out of which 51 are women.
Yelahanka New Town police arrest BJP worker Manjunath and 2 Congress workers Vadaraj and Devaraj after they began a fight in Attur ward (3). In Hampi Nagar, BJP party workers wear party colours and campaign near the booth.
10.37 a.m.
Voters lining up to cast their votes in Ward No. 30 Ullal. Photo: G. Sampath Kumar
10.30 a.m. Poor response in Hampinagar ward, says police official.
10.25 a.m. People of Veeranna Palya have boycotted polls, citing lack of amenities.
Ganganna, husband of Varalakshmi Ganganna, JD(S) candidate from J.P. Park, was arrested at around 1 am for allegedly trying to distribute money to voters near J.P. Park. An amount of Rs. 1 lakh cash was seized from him.
Voters find it difficult to find their wards at Kempapura Agrahara, where there has been a turnout of around 10 per cent.
10.20 a.m. "More than parties, Bengaluru development should be looked at while voting. Voting is a great provision in the constitution. Transportation issues and flooding during rains are important issues," says Vatal Nagaraj, pro-Kannada activist, voting at RadhaKrishna Temple ward. He is also talking about donkeys and their development. Around 10-15 percent polling in RadhaKrishna temple ward and polling is going every smoothly.
10.15 a.m. When BJP was in power in Karnataka, 1,7500 crores was reserved for Bengaluru city in the budget, says Minister Sadananda Gowda in K.R. Puram ward.
Lukewarm response till now
BBMP Commissioner G. Kumar Naik said that voter response till now has been lukewarm.
“ It's a rainy day and people are yet to come out of their houses. Voters have to be assertive and come out and vote to decide the future of the city ”
Till 9 a.m., voter turn out has been around 5 per cent. "It's a rainy day and people are yet to come out of their houses. Voters have to be assertive and come out and vote to decide the future of the city," he said.
10.07 a.m. In K.R. Puram ward, a constable says that turnout has been rather poor as most people don't know which booth they are supposed to go to.
A fire engine struggling to pass through traffic in K.R. Puram ward. A low-intensity cylinder blast took place nearby. Photo: K.C. Deepika
10.05 a.m. The Yelahanka New Town police have detained eight workers in connection with the scuffle. Visuals from the incident show Vishwanath, Yelahanka MLA, dragging a person by the arm and trying to assault him. Mr. Vishwanath alleged that the person was a JD(S) supporter and was trying to woo voters by distributing money.
10:00 am: Probems with EVM caused a delay of start of polls in a polling booth in Chamarajpet.
9:55 am: Tension prevailed in Yelahanka new town as BJP and JD(S) workers clashed. The incident was triggered when Yelahanka MLA S.R.Vishwanath took objection to alleged campaigning by JD(S) workers near the polling booth. This led to a scuffle and verbal duel between workers of the two parties. Police rushed to the spot and got control of the situation. JD(S) candidate Hanumanthe Gowda alleged that Mr.Vishwanath was insecure and was making false accusations.
9:52 am: Mr. Deve Gowda speaking to media persons during his protest alleged that police had raided atleast 3 shops of JD(S) supporters and illegally detained them."The government has given out instructions to scuttle the chances of the JD(S). The police machinery is compromised," he alleged.
9:51 am: Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda rushed to Jeevanbheema Nagar police station and held a flash protest alleging police harassment of JD(S) candidate Ayesha Begum and other party workers. Additional commissioner P. Hrisekhran and other senior police officials rushed to the spot and convinced him to withdraw the protest.
9:50 am: Till 9 a.m. about 2.65 lakh have voted, reports Bageshree.
9:45 am: Youth died after a tree branch fell on his head while he was going to cast vote in Shivaji Nagar. Fayaz, 22, a voter in Ward No. 92, succumbed to injuries after a tree branch fell on him near the polling booth.
9:42 am: In Ward 53 a rowdy sheeter has been fielded. "K.R. Puram has become goondapuram after the new congress MLA Byrathi Basavaraj has taken over," says Nandish Reddy, former K.R. Puram MLA from BJP.
9:40 am: Syed Mastan, Congress candidate from K.R. Puram, says voter turnout has been more than last year.
9:34 am: Uma, a director of a private firm who voted in gayatri nagar ward (76), has alleged that the indelible ink isn't of high quality. She wiped it off completely with a thinner after voting and being inked.
9:30 am: Posse of policeman posted on duty at Kempapura, Agara wards. The wards are considered as hyper-sensitive wards. Mixed responses from the voters in the polling booth.
9:15 am: Reports say voter injured in Shivajinagar after a tree branch fell on him.
8:55 am : Four persons arrested from Ward 88, Jeevanbhima Nagar, for distributing cash. Rs 2.01 lakh seized during the arrest.
8:40 am: People from CV Raman Nagar came out to vote in the polls as a booth in the area witnesses 100 voters already. CV Raman Nagar constituency has two contestants - one from BJP and one from Congress. Voters like IT employee Avinash Nayak says it is a clear disadvantage as they are left with no choice.
An elderly voter arrives at a poll booth in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photo: K.C. Deepika
8:30 am: Rain disrupts voting in many areas in the city. Early voters turned out to be walkers.
8:20 am: Thin or no lines at 2-3 booths at Padmanabanagar and Banshankari 2 stage constituencies.
8:00 am The voting for Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) began in earnest from 7 a.m. in the city. Polling officials said no issues were reported from any area of the city yet.
Small groups of people could be seen queueing up in front of polling booths to cast their votes.
The BBMP has been trying to boost voter turnout, saying 44/100 is not enough. But will it be any different today? Disinterested parties ran an insipid campaign, but there was increased participation by civic forums and neighbourhood associations. The turnout in 2010 was 44.04 per cent, which improved to 52.8 per cent in the 2013 Assembly polls and to 55.94 per cent in the 2014 general elections.
All you need to know about the upcoming elections:
>Bill casts shadow on BBMP polls
MSV was brilliant in setting words to tune or setting tunes for words.
>Congress to face tough challenge in BBMP polls
Public campaigning by political parties and candidates for elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike council, scheduled on August 22
>BBMP polls: AAP opts out
AAP, sections of which till recently hoped to contest the elections to the BBMP to make entry into the local body, has decided against contesting the polls.
>Poll booth shifted: residents threaten to boycott BBMP polls
Members of the BJP filed a complaint with the State Election Commission against the returning officer .
>Karnataka Govt. gets 8 weeks to hold BBMP polls
Just a day before the last day of the filing nomination papers, the ruling Congress has announced the list of 198 candidates for elections to the BBMP scheduled on August 22.
>BBMP polls stall caste census
The analysis of the State government’s ambitious Social and Educational Survey (caste census) will not be out any time soon.
