Bengaluru, May.11: The Karnataka Assembly elections held on May 10 passed off peacefully with an impressive turnout of over 72.68%, which is likely to surpass the 2018 figures (72.36%) after final reconciliation of figures.
Voting was largely peaceful barring sporadic incidents of clashes between party workers.
Predictably, Bengaluru’s turnout in the 28 constituencies that come under it remained dismal at an estimated 54.51%, despite a campaign by several national leaders of all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and special drives by the Election Commission to enthuse urban voters.
In stark contrast to Bengaluru, its neighbouring districts with large rural pockets recorded a heavy turnout. Chikkaballapura recorded a turnout of 85.83%, followed by Ramanagara at 84.98%, Bengaluru Rural at 83.76% and Tumakuru at 83.49%.
After Bengaluru, Kalaburagi at 65.22%, Yadgiri at 66.66% and Raichur at 69.79% recorded a relatively lower turnout.
Polling for the 224 Assembly seats began on a slow note in the morning with about 8.21% of the votes polled in the first two hours. It gathered pace later in the day.
Karnataka had reported a poll percentage of 71.45% in 2013 and 72.1% in 2018. The turnout in Bengaluru was 62% in 2013 and 57% in 2018.
