Voting underway in Karnataka for Presidential election
Bengaluru(PTI): Voting is underway at 'Vidhan Soudha' here for the Presidential election where the NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha.
There are 28 Lok Sabha members in Karnataka comprising 25 from BJP, one each from Janata Dal and Congress and an independent member. The state has 11 Rajya Sabha members -- five each from BJP and Congress, and one from JD(S) (former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda).
The state Assembly has a total strength of 225 MLAs comprising 120 from the BJP including the Speaker, 69 Congress, 32 JD(S), one from the Bahujan Samaj Party, two independents and a nominated member.
The JD(S) has extended its support to Murmu. Murmu and Sinha had come to the city a few days ago and sought the support of the MLAs and MPs for their candidature.
According to an Information Department official, the BJP members were the first to queue up to vote. Karnataka Minister for Water Resources Govind Karjol was the first to cast his ballot.
The polling started at 10 am and will go on till 5 pm. PTI GMS RS ROH
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
