LS polls: 9.45% voter turnout in Karnataka's 14 constituencies till 9 am
Bengaluru (PTI): An estimated 9.45 percent turnout was reported during the first two hours since voting began for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in 14 constituencies.
Queues were seen at polling booths in most of these Lok Sabha segments in the northern districts of state with voters, mostly senior citizens, morning walkers and joggers, lining up to cast their votes early, with temperature expected to rise as the day progresses.
Voter turnout till 9 am was about 9.45 per cent, election officials said.
Out of 14 segments that are going to polls today, highest turnout of 11.39 per cent was recorded in Shimoga, followed by Uttara Kannada at 11.07 per cent, and least 8.27 per cent in Raichur.
A total of 227 candidates -- 206 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for the second phase covering northern districts, where more than 2.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 28,269 polling stations.
The Congress and BJP are locking horns on the electoral battleground again in less than a fortnight in Karnataka.
It's going to be a straight fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP in the segments in the northern districts. The JD(S) is not contesting in these seats and is supporting its NDA alliance partner -- the BJP.
The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling in the other 14 seats in most of the southern and coastal districts was held on April 26.
The segments where elections will be held on Tuesday are: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state back then.
Former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar , who are also BJP's candidates from Haveri and Belgaum segments, Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, suspended BJP leader and independent candidate from Shimoga K S Eshwarappa, Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar along with son and Belgaum Congress candidate Mrinal Hebbalkar were among the prominants who cast their votes.
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Woman in Himachal Pradesh bullies Kashmiri shawl sellers, video turns up on X
Shimla, Nov 25: A woman claiming to be a panchayat official was caught on camera warning two shawl sellers from Kashmir against trading their wares in Himachal Pradesh.
The 2.46-minute video that surfaced on social media showed the woman telling the two Kashmiris not to come to the village and asking them to say "Jai Shri Ram" to prove they are "Hindustani."
Sharing the video on X on Monday, National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, Nasir Khuehami, claimed that the video was from a village in Himachal's Hamirpur district.
"No one will purchase their products, buy from our Hindu people," the woman is seen telling others in the video. "Don't come in my area," she told shawl sellers.
Later in a post, Khuehami said that the chief minister's office had assured action against anyone found intimidating Kashmiris.
However, when contacted, the CM's media advisor Naresh Chauhan told the PTI that there was no such complaint. The matter would be looked into if any complaint is registered, he said.
A large number of Kashmiris come to the state to sell shawls and other products, while hundreds of Kashmiris labourers work in the state round the year.
It is highly condemnable that a woman, wife of a Sarpanch, is exhibiting communal behavior toward two Kashmiri men who traveled to Himachal Pradesh for business purposes. Her communal actions, as seen in the video, where she threatens them to leave the state, instructs villagers… pic.twitter.com/IIw2dkZPGt
— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) November 25, 2024
