BJP veteran B. S. Yediyurappa offered pooja at Huchcharaya Swamy temple in Shikaripura with his son and Shivamogga Lok Sabha candidate B. Y. Raghavendra before going to the polling booth in Shikaripura to exercise their franchise for the Lok Sabha elections on May 7.
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Speaking to mediapersons at his residence at Shikaripura, the former CM exuded confidence that the BJP-JD(S) combine will win 25-26 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. “We will win all 14 that went to polls in the first phase (April 26). Even if we lose one or two in the second phase, we will definitely win at least 25-26 seats,” he said.
He expects B.Y. Raghavendra to win with a margin of not less than 2.5 lakh votes.
BJP candidate is trying to mislead voters: K.S Eshwarappa
Former deputy CM K.S. Eshwarappa, contesting as an independent candidate in Shivamogga, accused BJP candidate B.Y Raghavendra of circulating an old video clip to suggest that he (Eshwarappa) was campaigning for him (Raghavendra). “It is an attempt to mislead voters on voting day,” said the BJP veteran who has been suspended by the party for contesting against the official candidate.
Voters turned up in huge numbers at polling booths in Shivamogga by 7 a.m. Many people stood in long queues to cast their votes. Most of them preferred to exercise their right to vote in the morning hours, as the temperature goes up later in the day.
Festive atmosphere in Shivamogga
By 9 a.m., Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency recorded 11.45% voting. Among those who voted early in the day were former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, his sons B.Y. Raghavendra who is the BJP candidate in Shivamogga, and B.Y. Vijayendra, the State BJP president.
In Shivamogga city, many people skipped their morning walk to queue up at polling stations. Carrying photo identity cards, they looked for the serial numbers in the voters’ list at the kiosks set up by the Election Commission, before entered the booths.
Among the early voters, many were senior citizens and first-time voters. They were engaged in taking selfies, showing their finger with indelible ink marks. The Election Commission has set up selfie-points in many booths.
Unique selfie booth at polling station in Shivamogga in Karnataka
Elections officials set up a rather interesting selfie booth at the Shivamogga zilla panchayat office in Karnataka. Voters got a chance to feel like a king on the occasion of the festival of democracy. The polling station was decorated to look like a palace. And, to complete the picture, the election officials wore attire resembling the staff in a palace.
