BENGALURU: There was a mixed, laidback response in Yeshwanthpur constituency, with the voter turnout touching just 54% until 6 pm.
The voter demography changed as the day progressed. In the early morning hours, office-goers, especially women, made a beeline for polling booths before rushing to office. By noon, homemakers and senior citizens started trickling in.
Ajay, an employee with Ramanagara DC Office, came with his wife to cast his vote early in the morning. “I have to go to office. If I go without voting, my wife will also be unable to vote. So we decided to beat the winter chill, and bring our child to the booth.”
Rashmi, an HR employee took permission to go a few hours late, so that she could vote. “I came early as the queue is small,” she said.
Voting was peaceful in most parts of this important constituency. But in some places, clashes broke out between BJP and JDS workers. ST Somashekhar, disqualified MLA, is now contesting on a BJP ticket and is up against JDS strongman TN Javarayi Gowda. However, a total of 12 candidates, including Congress candidate P Nagaraj, are in the fray.
At Herohalli, BJP and Congress workers got into a scuffle after dummy EVMs were brought in to show voters which key and number to press. In this scuffle, some voters were also roughed up, and police officials had to resort to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
Up to 1pm, the constituency saw a mere 27.29% voter turnout. By 3pm, there was a marginal increase to 38.83%, and by 5pm, it was 48.34%. With a last-minute rush, it swelled to 54%. Election observers and police said the turnout was low because many youngsters used the weekday as an excuse not to vote, and the number comprised mostly senior citizens and homemakers.
At some polling booths, voters found their names omitted, and even deleted from the list. This did not go down well with many. “I was able to cast my vote for the Lok Sabha poll, but for the bypolls, my name was deleted. I verified my details on Election Commission website, and my name was there,” said Sulochana,a voter.