Bye-polls to 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka are underway since 7 am on Thursday. The polls are crucial to the survival of the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state. The BJP needs to win at least six seats to remain in power in the state.
Polling began at 7:00 am in all the 15 Assembly constituencies amid tight security to elect the new legislators. Voting will go on till 6:00 pm. In Bengaluru alone, where four seats are witnessing bye-elections, close to 3,000 police personnel including central forces have been deployed to ensure smooth and peaceful electoral process.
Bye-elections are being held in Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapura, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijaynagara, Chickballapura, KR Pura, Yeshwanthpura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, KR Pete and Hunsur Assembly seats.
The 15 constituencies have nearly 38 lakh eligible voters, including 19.25-lakh men and 18.52-lakh women. As many as 165 candidates, including 126 Independents and 9 women are in the fray in the 15 Assembly seats.
The BJP and the opposition Congress are contesting in all 15 Assembly seats, while the JD(S) is standing in 12 constituencies. The 3,185 polling stations have a total of 8,326 ballot units and 8,186 controlling units and 7,876 VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) for casting the ballots.
These bye-polls are necessitated due to disqualification of rebel MLAs belonging to the Congress and JD(S) ruling coalition. While a total of 17 MLAs left the coalition, elections in two assembly segments -- Muski (Raichur district) and R.R. Nagar (Bengaluru) have been withheld due to litigation in the Karnataka High Court over their results in the May 2018 state assembly elections.
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