The voting in the second phase of the gram panchayat elections in Mysuru region was brisk and peaceful.
There were no untoward incidents and though polling began on a dull note given the chilly weather conditions, it gained pace by afternoon. Polling in the second phase was held in Mysuru, Nanjangud and T. Narsipura in the district in which 5,069 candidates were in fray for 1,834 seats spread across 102 gram panchayats. Though there are 1,929 seats across these GPs, 82 have already been elected unopposed while there were no contestants for 13 seats.
The polling percentage from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. was a measly 6.05 and increased to 18.47 by 11 a.m. It further increased to 42.08% at 1 p.m. and reached 81.17% by 5 p.m.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was among the prominent voters in the region and he exercised his franchise at Siddaramanahundi in the afternoon. Prior to voting, he visited the Siddarameshwara temple in the village and offered prayers. Voters queued up in front of their respective polling booths where there were arrangements for thermal screening to ascertain if anyone was running a high temperature. This was to ensure safety and identify any voter with symptoms of COVID-19 in the shadow of which the elections were held.
In the neighbouring district of Mandya, polling was held for the 879 gram panchayats spread across Pandavpura, Srirangapatana, K.R. Pet and Nagamangala taluks. There were 5,56,274 registered voters in the GP constituencies in these taluks against which 68.79% of them had exercised their franchise by 3 p.m. Voting in Pandavpura was brisk from morning and 71.35% of the voters had cast their votes by 3 p.m. In Chamarajanagar district, elections were held for 872 seats in 52 gram panchayats of Yelandur, Hanur and Kollegal taluks. There were no nominations for 9 seats and 35 were elected unopposed. In all, 3,02,889 registered voters were eligible to exercise their franchise against which 67.49% of the voters had cast their vote by 3 p.m.
In Kodagu, polling was held for 366 seats in 35 gram panchayats and the polling was dull till 3 p.m with polling percentage being 58.63 at 3 p.m.
