Karnataka Elections 2018 LIVE: Ex-PM Deve Gowda Votes in Hassan, Son Kumaraswamy Visits Mutt First

While veteran Nano scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Professor C N R Rao casts his vote, Election Commission says that 10.6% voting has been recorded til 9.15 am.

As the high-stake Karnataka battle is underway, its residents are overcoming hurdles to choose their representatives. A seven-month pregnant woman broke down at a booth in Padmanabhhnagara Assembly seat in Bengaluru after officials refused to let her cast her vote as she had arrived with a Xerox copy of her Voter ID card. However, seeing her in tears and after much deliberation, the woman was allowed to vote. Meanwhile, a resident tweeted a video of a jam-packed Tumkur road and said that he hopes people are going to vote.

Jam packed Tumkur road... Hopefully everyone heading for elections. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/dg8TXBhTyo

— ullas chikmangluru (@ullasckm) May 12, 2018

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, who is 85 years old, votes at Hassan's Paduvalahippe. He claims that this is the 66th time he is voting in Assembly elections as he has been exercising his franchise since 1952.

Indrajit Lankesh, the brother of journalist Gauri Lankesh, casts his vote at Reddy Jana Sangha School in South Bengaluru's Koramangala.

Top leaders are seen hopping to temples and other religious even on the day of polling with BJP's CM candidate B S Yeddyurappa offering special prayers at a temple before casting his vote, while JD(S) state chief H D Kumaraswamy seeking blessings of Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer in Vijaynagar.

A resident tweets to CNN-News18's senior editor drawing attention towards hurdles faced by voters to cast their vote in wake of shortage on public transport due to state buses being deployed for poll duty. Meanwhile, a young voter tells our reporter that she would rather like to see younger candidates with whom she can connect, than have leaders who have been making false promises over the years. The voter says that she is "tired of having to choose between the bad and worse".

People are sitting on bus tops to go to their places to cast their vote #KarnatakaElections2018 extreme shortage of buses @dp_satish pic.twitter.com/7ybAB8nfhG

— Rohan Gowda (@rohangowda) May 12, 2018

One may often come across interesting beliefs and traditions in a culturally rich country like India. Even on the day Karnataka residents vote in the crucial Assembly elections, candidates in fray and their kin give in their best to woo God for their victory. While the wife of JD(S) candidate G T Deve Gowda in Chamundeshwari (from where CM Siddaramaiah is contesting polls) forced election personnel to shift the EVM machine to a "better place" due to 'Vaastu Shastra', BJP candidate B Sriramalu performed 'gau pooja' (cow worship) before casting his vote. Sriramalu is pitted against Siddaramaiah in Badami.

Bellary: BJP's B.Sriramalu performed 'gau pooja' (cow worship) before casting his vote. He is contesting against CM Siddaramaiah from Badami constituency. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Ht3akZlzK3

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018

Transport inconvenience, EVMs malfunction and natural hurdles like rainfall may have temporarily disrupted voting till now, but this time, Karnataka voters face another problem -- the mosquito menace. Enraged over mosquitoes biting them, voters in three booths in Bengaluru's Madevapura Assembly seat curse Election Commission for not taking precautionary measures. Meanwhile, the security personnel at the voting centres had to swing into action to bring in mosquito coils to avoid any protest in this regard.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a BJP worker at Hebbala Assembly seat for "threatening" voters not to vote before local BJP MLA Narayanaswamy casts his vote, delaying the voting by 10 minutes.

Even as a total of six EVMs malfunction has been reported so far, the one at a booth in Hubli has now been replaced and voting has resumed.

Hubli: Faulty Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at booth number 108 being replaced, voting is yet to resume at the booth. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/TpBzVa6u3G

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018

"Urging my sisters and brothers of Karnataka to vote in large numbers today. I would particularly like to call upon young voters to vote and enrich this festival of democracy with their participation. (sic)," PM Narendra Modi tweeted on Saturday.

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ನನ್ನ ಸೋದರಿಯರೇ ಹಾಗೂ ಸೋದರರೇ, ಇಂದು ಮತದಾನ ಮಾಡಿ. ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಯುವ ಮತದಾರರು ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಹಬ್ಬದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡು ತಮ್ಮ ಹಕ್ಕು ಚಲಾಯಿಸುವಂತೆ ಕೋರುತ್ತೇನೆ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 12, 2018

As a voter arrives at a polling booth with her dog, many others could not even reach their home constituencies to vote. Nearly 2,000 passengers were reported to be stranded at Kempegowda bus station on Friday evening as the state buses were deployed for election duty.  

Bengaluru: Voting for 222 seats is underway in Karnataka, visuals from booth number.172 in BTM constituency. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/NXLy2QFY1m

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018

For the first time, 10 people from Kundapur in Udupi district have registered as Non-Resident Indian voters from the Assembly Elections, according to a report in Deccan Herald. They have filed their details under Form-6A meant for NRIs. These NRIs, residing in Gulf countries, will cast their votes in Kundapur constituency. However, Election Commission officials say that this does not mean that only 10 NRIs are voting. "There are 14 lakh NRIs residing in the world but these 10 have identified themselves as NRIs and enrolled again," an official said. Also, the voters will get to use the NOTA (None of the Above Option) for the first time in Karnataka Assembly elections. A total of 2.57 Karnataka residents had used the option in Lok Sabha elections in 2014, but this will be the first time it will be used in Assembly elections here.

Voters face inconvenience as an Electronic Voting Machine in a booth at Bengaluru's Chamarajapete is not working due to power outage after rains last night. Election Commission says that the machine will be replaced soon. Meanwhile, EVM malfunction has also been reported from a booth in Bengaluru's Shivajinagara and at Lamington School booth in Hubli. Voters in Belgaum district's Chikkod-Sadalaga Assembly seat may face hurdles while arriving at voting centres due to rainfall, while passengers across the state face inconvenience commuting as most KSRTC and BMTC buses are on election duty. (Picture: Kamal Dev)

BJP leader Sadananda Gowda and saffron party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa cast their votes in their respective constituencies. Officials said 58,008 polling stations have been set up across the state, of which 12002 have been designated as "critical", with over 3,50,000 polling personnel on duty. Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls that will go on till 6 pm. Counting of votes will take place on May 15. "82,157 people have been deployed for poll duty that include DSPs, home guards and civil defence, and forest guards and watchers, Karnataka DGP Neelamani N Raju said. This also includes about 7,500 personnel from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtram Chattisgarh, Kerala and Goa, she said, adding, central forces have been deployed.

BJP Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa casts his vote in Shikarpur, Shimoga. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/NCrU6NFrMM

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018

Union Minister & BJP leader Sadananda Gowda casts his vote in Puttur. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/vZsFER7spa

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018

People queue up outside voting centre in Bengaluru to cast their vote as polling for the high-stakes Karnataka assembly elections begins under a thick security blanket. Over 2,600 candidates are in the fray-- more than 2400 men and and over 200 women. The total voters including service electors according to the 2018 final rolls are 5,06,90,538, of whom 2,56,75,579 male voters, 2,50,09,904 female and 5,055 transgender voters. (Picture: Kamal Dev)

The rancorous three-cornered election campaign boils down to today when Karnataka will vote to pick a new government. Polling will be held for 222 seats in the 224-seat Assembly as the Election Commission deferred polling in two constituencies after nearly 10,000 Electoral Photo ID Cards were seized in RR Nagar and BJP candidate in Jayanagar died. Both these constituencies will now vote on May 28. The ruling Congress and the BJP are the main contenders for power, while former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S) is likely to play the kingmaker, according to most surveys and opinion polls. There are more than 4.96 crore voters who are eligible to exercise their franchise to choose their representatives from a field of little over 2,600 candidates. Men account for over 2.52 crore voters, women around 2.44 crore, while there are 4,552 transgender electors. Polling officials say that more than 55,600 voting stations have been set up. Over 3.5 lakh personnel will be on duty to ensure a free and fair poll.

Additional Director General of Police Kamalpanth said that more than 1,40,000 police personnel and other forces will be deployed tomorrow. In sensitive areas like Mangalore, Mandya, Bangalore rural, Hubli, RAF will be deployed. "Of the 58,302 booths in the state, 12,000 have been marked as critical. 21,464 booths are being covered by paramilitary forces. Besides, this we will also have police deployment. Our teams taking action for preventive custody since yesterday. Will intensify this today," the officer said. Meanwhile, State Disaster Management Authority director Srinivasa Reddy said that rain has been predicted for tomorrow, says people should vote before 4 pm.

The Congress has been criticising BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their decision to give tickets to eight persons from the Reddy

While 1,229 cases of violation of Model Code of Conduct have been registered so far and Rs 166 crore cash and other election-related items have been seized, Congress has submitted a memorandum to CEC to disqualify BJP candidate B Sriramulu in the bribery of a  judge candidate . "There should be an FIR against all those in the video," says senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

Meanwhile, the BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa attacked CM @siddaramaiah on a string of tweets from his twitter handle @BSYBJP

Voter ID Scam: Second case has been lodged which is about discovery of large number of EPIC cards as opposed to the first case which was lodged only over a group clash. Sitting Congress MLA Muniratna Naidu has been held accused in the case. FIR is lodged under sections 120B, 171E, 171F, 188, R/W 34 IPC.

Criticising the Congress of upholding appeasement politics, Amit Shah went on to say that the BJP differs in ideology as it does not partner with organisations like PFI and SDPI, those who have been instrumental in dividing the country. He also referred to the 'Tipu Jayanti' celebration.

News18 Editor DP Satish in conversation with @TwitterIndia on Karnataka Assembly Elections. 

Happening LIVE Now: The Karnataka Conversations about #ElectionsOnTwitter https://t.co/P8OYvipLPO

— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) May 10, 2018

Acknowledging BJP candidate B. Sriramulu's role in the campaign Shah claimed," He has helped us and we believe Karnataka is a gateway to south," while rubbishing Sriramulu's bribery video. "Many fake sting videos surface, don't believe them blindly," he said.

Amit Shah: We will arrange trade fairs to make the coffee plantation better.I want to say we have Government in 20 states and the Centre too, we have worked to improve the living standards of poor and we will work on the same pattern under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Yeddyurappa in Karnataka. We expect the people of Karnataka will vote and elect BJP government. Politics of performance should start now.'

Hitting back at Amit Shah, Congressman Dinesh Gundu Rao at a presser said, "PM calls us '10% Commission Government' having himself surrounded by the most corrupt people this state has ever seen. Besides, he doesn't hold press conferences and neither does he take questions." Mocking Shah's statement at a similar press conference denying having 'any relation with Janaradan Reddy',Rao said,"Janardan Reddy has been campaigning for BJP and Amit Shah says the party has no association with him, BJP has double standards."

Amit Shah on being asked for his opinion on Rahul Gandhi's commments on the BJP, said "I don't want to react on what Rahul says." Affirming to his fellow colleagues' conviction of victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections, Shah said, "I travelled across Karnataka and I can say that this Government has failed to deliver completely. BJP will win more than 130 seats & form government in the state so, there is no question of seeking or giving support to anyone. Yeddyurappa will be our CM."

Law & order has seen a downfall in Karnataka. More than 24 workers of BJP & RSS were brutally killed in the state and Congress considers it a part of politics. No efforts were made to nab the culprits: Amit Shah

Amit Shah says that BJP’s parivartan yatra has ensured that all party leaders reached the remotest places in Karnataka and listened to their views. He promised that the loan waiver up to Rs 1 lakh promised to farmers in the BJP manifesto will be given in 10 days of the BJP forming the government in the state. ‘We will also bring in schemes to regulate the vegetable prices,” he says.