BENGALURU: The by-election to the Rajarajeshwarinagar (RR Nagar) constituency went off peacefully, barring a few incidents of malfunctioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on Monday.
The Assembly election to the RR Nagar constituency was postponed by the Election Commission of India after over 9,000 voter identity cards were found in an apartment in Jalahalli, just a few days ahead of the polls that were originally scheduled for May 12.
With the Met Department predicting rains towards evening, a large number of people turned up at the polling stations early in the day forming long queues before 421 polling booths. By 11 am, the voter turnout out was around 21%. The State Election Office said that by 5.30 pm, the voting percentage was 54, while the exact voter turnout will be announced on Tuesday.
Voters had to wait for a longer time at two booths at HMT Higher Primary School in Jalahalli as EVMs malfunctioned. The problem was fixed soon, and voting resumed. Voters were seen seeking the assistance of polling agents outside Orchids International School, HMT Colony, to figure out which booth they were assigned to.
A large number of people gathered to see actor Ganesh and his wife Shilpa and actor couple Avinash and Malavika when they turned up to vote. Actress Amulaya too cast her vote in the RR Nagar constituency. Interestingly, her father-in-law B.H. Ramachandra is contesting the poll on a JD(S) ticket from the constituency. The BJP has fielded Muniraju Gowda P.M.
While BJP and JD(S) have fielded Vokkaliga candidates, Munirathna is contesting on a Congress ticket and is trying his luck to return to the Assembly for the second successive time.
Sangeeta Raj, a resident of RR Nagar and a first-time voter, said that she felt disheartened when the poll was postponed in the constituency, while her friends elsewhere cast their votes on May 12. But on Monday, she was happy to see her finger marked with indelible ink.
On the poll being deferred, another voter Jayachandra said that it was unfortunate that such incidents occur even after years of democracy in the country. Those involved in such incidents should be punished to restore the faith of the public, he said.
