70.4% IN PH-2 HELPS KARNATAKA POST ITS BEST TURNOUT EVER

BENGALURU: Braving the scorching summer sun and heatwave, voters of north and central Karnataka turned out in their numbers to vote in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections helping the state register a 70.4% turnout in 14 seats on Tuesday that catapulted the cumulative figures for the two phases of polling to 69.9% - the best ever for the state since electioneering began in 1951.

Of the 14 seats that went to the polls in the 2nd phase, Chikkodi, with 76.9% polling had the best figures. This seat had also recorded the highest voter turnout of 75.5% in 2019.

Gulbarga, which recorded a maximum temperature of around 43°C on Tuesday, saw the lowest turnout among the 14 parliamentary seats, with only 61.7% voters exercising their franchise.

The final figures for the 14 segments in north Karnataka defied all expectations and proved many a pundit wrong as there were concerns that the turnout may be lower compared to 2019, primarily in view of the heatwave sweeping across the state.

The turnout not only surpassed the stats for the last three Lok Sabha elections, but was also close to the significant 70% turnout milestone.

The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling for 14 seats in the southern and coastal districts on April 26 had recorded a 69.5% turnout. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the state's 28 seats had recorded a 68.8% voter turnout. Overall, polling remained peaceful in the second phase, with only minor incidents of violence reported, including stone-pelting in Shorapur (Surapur) that left one person injured.

No major violence; turnout in N-K better

No major violence was reported in the second phase of polls in the state, Manoj Kumar Meena, the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, said.

While voter turnout in north Karnataka outshone that of the southern and coastal constituencies, Mandya, which went to polls in the first phase, retained its lead in terms of voter participation with a 81.1% turnout.

In 2019, Raichur had recorded the lowest polling with 58.3% voters turning out, but it came up with a marginally improved showing this time around with 61.8% voters turning out to vote.

In comparison, Bangalore Central, the IT-BT capital of the country, recorded barely 54% turnout and was the lowest among all the 28 seats in the state this time.

Meanwhile, Shorapur (Surapur), the sole assembly seat that had bypolls due to the death of sitting Congress MLA Raja Venkatappa Naik, registered 66.7% polling.