Bengaluru: Karnataka recorded 71.84 per cent voter turnout in the 14 constituencies in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls held in the state, Election Commission officials said on Wednesday.
The overall election process went off peacefully in the state as the Congress and BJP locked horns again on May on the electoral battleground in less than a fortnight, they said.
According to poll officials, of the 14 segments that went to polls on May 7, the highest turnout of 78.66 per cent was recorded in Chikkodi, followed by 78.33 per cent in Shimoga, and least 62.25 per cent in Gulbarga.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the same 14 segments in the first phase had recorded a turnout of 68.43 per cent.
The total voter turnout in Karnataka in the two phases in this Lok Sabha polls is 70.64 per cent.
The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling in the other 14 seats in most of the southern and coastal districts was held on April 26.
The constituencies which went to polls in the first phase, including those in state capital Bengaluru, witnessed a turnout of 69.56 per cent.
A total of 227 candidates — 206 men and 21 women — were in the fray for the second phase covering northern districts, where more than 2.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 28,269 polling stations.
Tuesday’s elections witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP in these segments. The JD(S) did not contest these seats and is supporting its NDA alliance partner — the BJP.
The segments in northern districts where elections were held are: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state back then.
Having scored a thumping victory in the Assembly elections last year, the Congress appeared determined to put up a strong show in the Lok Sabha polls, while Karnataka is the most important state for the BJP in south India as it’s only here that it had held power in the past.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Marziya Sharif | 
