Mangalore/Udupi/Karwar, Mar 7: Barring a few minor incidents, the polling for Urban Local Bodies ended peacefully amidst tight police security across three coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada on Thursday.
Dakshina Kannada, district which includes seven ULBs including Mangalore City Corporation registered a total of 66.24 per cent voting. While Sullia registered highest percentage of polling, MCC registered lowest poll percentage with 63.33 per cent voters exercising their franchise.
The six urban local bodies in Dakshina Kannada barring MCC, reported voting of 74.47%. As per the figures put up by the District Information Office, Ullal Town Municipality elections registered 70.08% voter turnout, Moodbidri registered 73.84%, Bantwal has figures of 76.09% while Puttur has recorded 71.23%. Belthangady local body polls registered a percentage of 75.49% while Sullia registered 80.01%.
MCC
Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) polls registered a 63.33% total voter turnout after polling came to a close at 5 pm on Thursday.
According to the statistics put up by the District Information Office, out of the total 3,22,293 voters from all 60 wards of the MCC, 2,07,071 people turned up to cast their votes.
Female voters outnumbered their male counterparts in today's polling. A total of 1,07,500 females cast their votes against 99,570 male voters.
Ward-wise, Kannur (52) Ward topped in voter turnout with 75.29%while Bendoor (38) Ward registered the lowest turnout with 47.35%.
Excitement and fervor was seen even in the elderly. A 91- year- old Christine Rodrigues and 90-year-old Gopal Krishna Shetty were among those who turned up for voting in Bejai and Kodialbail wards respectively.
Minor confusion
The elections were largely peaceful with no major instances of violence being reported from any part of the city.
In the Port (45) Ward, BJP activists reportedly stopped a group of students from casting their votes. At around 4:30 pm, about 100 students of a nursing college arrived at the polling booth to cast their votes. It was suspected that the students are from Kerala but they possessed voter ID cards and had registered themselves in the voter list. In spite of BJP activists briefly disturbing the proceedings urging not to allow the students to vote, all students cast their votes at the end.
In a couple of wards, the police took action against people using mobile phones at the polling station by confiscating their phones. In Idya ward, police handed back the phone of a lady after she argued that a prior notice or a board should have been put up intimating people about such a rule.
In Jeppu ward, the Electronic Voting Machine stopped working as early as 8:30 am in the morning. A new machine was pressed into action and voting resumed at 9:40 am.
In Kudroli (43) ward, Congress and JD(S) activists reportedly engaged in a brief altercation. Police had to control the situation with mild lathi-charge.
Violation
Despite the district administration issuing election code of conduct, violation cases were found in a few polling booths. As per the rule, no help desk should be installed by the political parties within 200 meters radius of the polling booth. But some of the political parties opened their help desks within 200 meters radius, apparently due to space constraints.
One such incident was traced in St Agnes College premises. Soon after a group raised the issue, the desk was shifted outside, ensuring that the desk is not visible from the polling booths. All the violation cases pertaining to help desk and fixing party flags were set right by 10 am.
Some people were seen complaining about their names not figuring in the voting list. Some others had to go back without voting in spite of a new voter id card being allotted to them owing to complications in voter list registration.
66 pc turnout in Uttara Kannada
The average turnout for elections to eleven urban local bodies of Uttara Kannada district was 66 per cent, as per preliminary information.
The average turnout in Karwar was 51 per cent, 62 per cent in Sirsi, 64 per cent in Dandeli, 68 per cent in Kumta, 62 per cent in Bhatkal, 45per cent in Ankola, 69 per cent in Honnavar, 76 per cent in Siddapur, 73 per cent in Yellapur, 76 per cent in Mundagod and 78 per cent in Haliyal .
Voting in the 31 wards of the Sirsi City Muncipal Council was peaceful, gathering momentum later in the day. In some booths, voters complained that their names were missing from the voters' list.
Pejawr seer casts vote
Pejawar mutt pontiff Vishweshatirtha Swamiji, who had kicked up a controversy saying that he would not vote, all of a sudden appeared in a polling booth at Thenkupete ward in Udupi and cast his vote.
Responding to the queries of media persons outside the booth, he said that he did not want to give any adverse message to the citizens.
In Dakshina Kannada as many as 677 candidates are contesting for 189 seats in seven Urban Local Bodies. Elections are being held for one city corporation (Mangalore), four town municipal councils(Moodbidri, Ullal, Bantwal, Puttur) and two town panchayats (Belthangady and Sullia). The polling which began at around 7: a.m. will go on till 5 p.m.
By 11:00 a.m., long queues of voters, of different age-groups could be seen outside various polling booths across the district.
Mangalore MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, former union minister B Janardhan Poojary, MLAs Krishna J Palemar, Yogish Bhat and other senior politicians cast their vote early morning.
Security has been beefed up across the district. A head constable and a police constable have been deployed at sensitive and hypersensitive booths. A police constable and a home guard are on duty at other booths. A videographer has been deployed to all the hyper sensitive booths to videograph the electioneering process.
According to DK Deputy Commissioner N Prakash, about 3,000 polling personnel have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the elections. This includes 47 sector officers and 68 police sector teams. As many as 32 sector officers and 47 sector police teams will be deployed in the MCC limits.
As many as 226 female candidates are trying their luck in seven ULBs. The break up of total of number of candidates with women in brackets is as follows: Mangalore City Corporation (243, 93); Moodbidri (77, 29), Ullal (93, 31), Bantwal (83, 27), Puttur (88, 31), Belthangady (38, 22) and Sullia (55, 24).
As many as 1,230 police personnel, 23 KSRP platoons, 6 DAR platoons, and 175 home guards have been deployed.
Mangalore City Corporation recorded 63.33% voting in the elections to the civic body held on Thursday, as per information provided by district officials.
The district average polling in the ULB polls to the seven ULBs in 66.24%.
The six urban local bodies in Dakshina Kannada barring Mangalore City Corporation reported voting of 74.47%.
In Moobidri TMC, the voting per centage in the polls held from 7am to 5pm was 73.84%, Puttur TMC 71.23%, Belthangady TP 75.49%, Sullia TP 80.10%, Ullal TMC 70.08% and Bantwal TMC 76.09%.
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