Bengaluru goes to poll amid heat wave-like situation
Bengaluru (PTI): Voters across four constituencies in Bengaluru, which were among the 14 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in Karnataka, came out to vote in heat wave-like conditions on Friday.
Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South are among the 14 constituencies in the state that voted in the first phase today.
“Although Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has not included Bengaluru in the list of heat wave affected areas, the city does satisfy one of the heat wave conditions – the departure from normal temperatures by at least 4.5 degrees,” said A Prasad, a scientist at IMD Bengaluru.
Bengaluru is categorised under Aw (tropical savanna, winter-dry) by the Koeppen-Geiger classification with average temperature pegged at 22 degrees Celsius. And according to Climate-data.org, the mercury in the city’s warmest month April usually never rises above 32.8 degrees Celsius.
“This April, Bengaluru’s highest temperature has surpassed the normal average almost every day,” said C S Patil, director of IMD Bengaluru.
As per IMD data, Bengaluru’s maximum temperature on the voting day will range between 36.4 and 38.4 degree Celsius.
Given that, IMD scientists said it is best that voters take precautions when they venture out.
“It is best to avoid direct exposure to sunlight between 12 noon and 3pm, when the intensity of the heat will be at its peak. Also, keep drinking water even if you are not thirsty and use an umbrella and sunglasses whenever venturing out. If one feels hot, a damp cloth to the neck will cool down the person to an extent,” said M Rajavel, a scientist at IMD.
Meanwhile, four of the districts that were issued an orange alert by the IMD – Tumkur, Mysuru, Mandya, Chitradurga, Chikkaballapura and Kolar – are also polling on April 26.
Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, Manoj Kumar Meena, while briefing about poll preparations had told reporters that the election commission is keeping in mind that many districts would be facing a heat wave on the polling day.
“We are prepared for heat-related medical issues like sunstroke and dehydration. All polling booths will have medical officers and ambulances too. Besides that, each booth will be equipped with a special medical kit,” Meena told reporters.
The unprecedented heat, which the IMD scientists attribute to El Nino effect apart from global warming, had also resulted in a subdued campaigning this election season, especially in the early phases.
“It was so hot that we had to avoid campaigning in the afternoons. We did it in the mornings, and then post 3pm. So yes, our campaigning did suffer because of the heat,” said M B Patil, Congress leader and state minister for large and medium industries and infrastructure development, to PTI.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
