Election to the Kalaburagi-Yadgir Local Authorities Constituency of the Legislative Council evoked a good response on Friday recording a voter turnout of 99.73%. Of the total 7,089 voters, 7,070 (3,312 men and 3,758 women) exercised their franchise in polling that ended at 4 p.m.
Starting at a slow pace in the morning with a turnout of 12.63% by 10 a.m., polling gathered momentum as the day grew to record 71.18% by noon, 96.68% by 2 p.m. and 99.73% by the end at 4 p.m.
As many as 19 members from 14 taluks in the two districts did not cast their votes. All the voters of Wadagera taluk in Yadgir district and Jewargi, Chittapur and Kamalapur taluks in Kalaburagi district cast their votes.
Two members each from Yadrami and Aland taluks in Kalaburagi district and Shahapur and Gurmitkal taluk in Yadgir district and one member each from Afzalpur, Kalaburagi, Shahabad, Sedam, Chincholi, Kalagi taluks and Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike in Kalaburagi district and Yadgir, Hunsagi and Shorapur taluks in Yadgir district did not cast their votes.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, who was away in New Delhi for the winter session of Parliament, was among those who did not turn up for exercising their franchise. He had, however, visited Kalaburagi a few days ago amid the ongoing Parliament session and campaigned for his party candidate.
BJP member of Kalaburagi City Corporation Priyanka, against whom the Congress had moved court stating that she had not completed 18 years of age, had obtained permission from the High Court of Karnataka and cast her vote in the election. Earlier, a local court, hearing the Congress petition, had barred her from casting vote in the Kalaburagi Mayoral election which later got postponed.
Though polling went off largely peacefully across the constituency, violations of COVID-19 guidelines and prohibitory orders imposed around the polling stations were found in many polling stations.
There are three candidates in the fray, B.G. Patil from the BJP, Shivanand Patil from the Congress and Independent candidate Mallikarjun Kodli. Counting will be taken up in the Mathematics Department on the Gulbarga University campus on Tuesday next.
