41.5 pc polling till 1 PM in Chincholi, Kundgol
Bengaluru: An estimated 41.5 per cent of the over 3.8 crore electorate exercised their franchise till 1 PM in the bypolls to Chincholi and Kundgol assembly constituencies.
The polls were by and large peaceful except for some snags reported in VVPATs, which were changed.
There were reports of EVMs developing problems in Chikkanarthi and Yalaguppi in Kundgol. However, the joint chief electoral officer A V Surya Sen refuted them.
Sen said 10 VVPATs in Chincholi and 2 VVPATs in Kundgol were changed. "No snags or stoppage of elections anywhere. All (complaints) were attended to," Sen added.
The bypolls are crucial for both the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance and the opposition BJP with the latter maintaining that a victory for it would boost its numbers in the assembly and have political implications.
The Chincholi bypoll was necessitated by the resignation ofUmesh Jadhav, who quit Congress and joined BJP to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga, while Kundgol seat fell vacant following the death of Minister C S Shivalli.
There are a total of 17 candidates in the fray in Chincholi and eight in Kundgol segments. The main contest will be between the nominees of the Congress, supported by JDS, and the BJP.
BJP has fielded S I Chikkanagowdar and Umesh Jadhavs son Avinash Jadhav from Kundgol and Chincholi assembly seats respectively. The Congress candidates are Subash Rathod in Chincholi and Kusumavathi, wife of Shivalli, in Kundgol.
There are a total of 1,93,869 voters in Chincholi, while Kundgol has 1,89,444 voters.
Voting is on in 455 polling stations (241 in Chincholi and 214 in Kundgol), where 695 Control Units, 1,051 Ballot Units, 916 VVPATs are being used.
The election results would have its bearing in the coalition government, where both Congress and JD(S) leaders have been airing their differences publicly
There has also been growing clamour within Congress for its leader Siddaramaiah to become Chief Minister once again.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
