Close to a month after the State went to polls, Jayanagar in Bengaluru finally voted on Monday. The constituency saw a 55 % voter turnout, less than the State average of 72.13%.
Only 1.11 lakh of the 2.03 lakh registered voters cast their votes. The turnout is a marginal decrease from the 2013 Assembly elections, where the turnout was 55.93%. Elections to the constituency was countermanded following the death of B.N. Vijay Kumar, MLA, who was also the BJP’s candidate.
Voter names missing
While the elections went smoothly for the most part, confusion prevailed outside Vivekananda Educational Centre, one of the polling stations, in the afternoon as several voters found their names deleted from the voters’ list.
Imran Ullah, a resident of Tilak Nagar, said: “Four out of five names in my family have been deleted. They are not even telling us the reason for it. We have lived in the same house for 30 years. They even gave us the verification slip. This is such a disappointment.”
Another voter Matheen Pasha said his sister’s name was not on the list. “No one here is able to give us a satisfactory response as to why our names are missing. We are able to find our names online, but not on their list,” he said. Several others like them returned home without casting their vote as the officials were neither able to find their names nor offer an explanation.
Meanwhile, in a first of its kind, the Election Commission’s initiative to provide beds, pillows, toiletries and medical kits to all polling officials saw a positive response from them. H.S. Karibasavaiah, a polling official, said the facilities made it easier for them to carry through their day at the polling station. Narayanappa, another official who has done election duty at least five times, said this time they did not feel stressed as they could catch a good night’s sleep, thanks to the arrangements made.
Following the death of Vijay Kumar, the BJP fielded his brother B.N. Prahlad to fight against the Congress’s Sowmya Reddy, daughter of Ramalinga Reddy, and Independent candidate Ravi Krishna Reddy.
Ahead of the polls, the JD(S) pulled out its candidate Kale Gowda from the contest, announcing its support to the Congress.
Jayanagar has been a BJP stronghold for the last two terms. In the 2013 elections, Vijay Kumar won by 12,312 votes.
The poll results will be announced on June 13.
Chalapathi N., a resident of Jayanagar 4T Block, said: “Vijay Kumar’s demise was a huge loss for the constituency. They have fielded his brother, whom we don’t know well. On the other hand, people know Ramalinga Reddy but don’t know much about his daughter. It’s a tough choice,” he said.