Karnataka Assembly Elections: PM Modi Urges People Of Karnataka To Vote In Large Numbers

Karnataka: The voting for the Karnataka Assembly Elections begins. Polling began at 7 AM and to continue till 6 PM. A total of 2,615 candidates are in the fray for the 224 assembly constituencies. Voting will be held at 58 thousand 545 polling stations. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to conduct free and fair elections. Around 3 lakh polling personnel have been deployed to conduct the polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people of Karnataka, particularly young and first-time voters, to vote in large numbers for the assembly polls and enrich the festival of democracy.

In a tweet, Mr. Modi also said that there are by-polls happening for a Parliamentary seat in Punjab and for Assembly seats in Meghalaya, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. He urged voters in those constituencies to exercise their franchise in large numbers.

Over 5 crore 31 lakh voters will cast their vote in the single-phase election across the state. Over 42 lakh 48 thousand new voters have been issued voter ID cards and they will vote for the first time. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has appealed to the young and urban electors to come forward and participate actively in the festival of democracy.

The Election Commission has conducted a number of SVEEP activities to increase the voting percentage. Model polling stations along with theme-based polling booths have been designed to attract voters. The Election Commission has also introduced Chunavana Mobile app and Voter Helpline app to facilitate voters in the polling process. These apps provide real-time updates about the queue and parking space availability at polling stations. Essential facilities like drinking water, toilets, ramps, wheelchair, electricity, volunteers, shades, help desks and parking facilities have been provided at all the polling stations in the state.

The counting of votes will take place on 13th of May. Karnataka had recorded a voter turnout of 72.36 percent in the last Assembly election in 2018