Karnataka: Voting Begins in High-Stake Assembly Polls; BJP Looks to Retain Power, Cong Eyes Comeback

Bengaluru: A voter turnout of 8.26 % was recorded in the first two hours of polling in Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections on Wednesday, according to Election Commission data.

The highest percentage was in the coastal district of Udupi (13.28%) and the lowest in Chamarajanagar district (5.75%) till 9 am.

Voting for the 224-member Assembly began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

The main electoral fight is between the ruling BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

The BJP looks to script history to retain its southern citadel while a combative Congress eyes a comeback after a high octane campaign that was marked by a plummeting level of public discourse and grew increasingly shrill over the Bajrang Dal issue.

While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, wants to break a 38-year-old jinx -- Karnataka has never voted the incumbent party to power since 1985, the Congress is hoping for a morale booster victory to give it a much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Also what needs to be watched out for is whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) will emerge as a "kingmaker" or a "king" by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.

Bypolls Underway

Uttar Pradesh/Rampur-Mirzapur: Voting got underway in the bypolls to the Suar and Chhanbey Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh Wednesday morning.

There is a direct contest between the ruling coalition and the opposition Samajwadi Party in the bypolls.

A total of 774 polling booths have been set up by the Election Commission at 492 polling centres in the two constituencies, while there are 6.62 lakh (3.51 lakh mail, 3.11 lakh female and 82 third gender) eligible voters. A total of \14  candidates are in the fray -- six in Suar and eight in Chhanbey.

The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to not contest the bye-elections, while the Congress has fielded its candidate only in Chhanbey.

The Suar seat in Rampur district, however, will be in focus as it was held by Abdullah Azam Khan, the son of senior SP leader Azam Khan, before it was declared vacant on February 13 after a Moradabad court sentenced the young leader to two years in jail in a 15-year-old case.

The Samajwadi Party is going all out in its attempt to defend what can be called its last citadel in Rampur while the Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the ruling BJP, is leaving no stone unturned to breach it, especially after the saffron party managed to snatch the Rampur assembly as well as the parliamentary seats, both of which were Azam Khan's stronghold.

The Chhanbey seat in Mirzapur fell vacant following the death of Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA Rahul Prakash Kol in February. The party has fielded Kol's wife Rinki Kol while Kirti Kol is contesting as the Samajwadi Party candidate. Eight candidates are in the fray for this seat.

Punjab/Jalandhar: Polling began on Wednesday morning for the high-stakes Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll where a four-cornered electoral battle is in the offing with the AAP, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal vying to outdo each other in the dalit stronghold.

There are a total 16,21,800 eligible voters, including 8,44,904 males, 7,76,855 females, and 41 transgenders in the constituency.

Nineteen candidates, including four women, are in the fray. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.

There are 1,972 polling stations in the constituency and 497 of them have been identified as critical, officials said.

The Jalandhar Lok Sabha (reserved) seat fell vacant following the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary. He suffered a cardiac arrest during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar's Phillaur in January this year.

The AAP has fielded former MLA Sushil Rinku who quit the Congress to join the Punjab's ruling party while the Congress has shown its faith in Karamjit Kaur, the wife of Santokh Chaudhary.

The BJP has fielded Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, a dalit Sikh, who quit the Shiromani Akali Dal to join the saffron party. Atwal is the son of former Punjab Vidhan Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal who had also joined the BJP.

The SAD has fielded its two-time MLA from Banga seat Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who is a doctor. The SAD candidate is backed by its ally Bahujan Samaj Party. The Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has fielded Gurjant Singh.  Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party is hoping to mark its presence in the Lok Sabha by registering a victory in the bypoll.

The bypoll is also being seen as a test of the one-year performance of the Bhagwant Mann-led government which has been harping on providing free electricity, jobs to youth, regularising services of contractual employees, action against corruption and opening of mohalla clinics among others.

Meghalaya: The voter turnout in Sohiong bye-election in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district was 26% at 9 a.m on Wednesday, with the polling process largely being peaceful, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said.

Voting is taking place in 3,328 polling booths, of which 1,100 have been identified as sensitive and 28 as critical. The 63 polling stations are being manned by over 300 polling officials.

The bye-election was necessitated following the death of UDP candidate HDR Lyngdoh ahead of the assembly elections held in the rest of the state on February 27. Polling to Sohiong was then postponed due to Lyngdoh's death.

Votes will be counted on May 13.

Six candidates are in the fray. All of them are men. The nominees are Synshar Lyngdoh Thabah of the UDP, Samlin Malngiang of the NPP, S Osborne Kharjana of the Congress, Sandondor Ryntathiang of the HSPDP, Sereph E Kharbuki of the BJP, and Stodingstar Thabah of the TMC.

Odisha: More than 9% of the 2.21 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of voting in Odisha's Jharsuguda Assembly constituency, where bye-election is underway on Wednesday, an Election Commission official said.

Over 2.21 lakh voters, including 63 members of the transgender community, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll.

The bye-election assumes significance as it will be the last poll before the 2024 general elections.

Both BJD candidate Deepali Das and BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy have cast their votes earlier in the morning.

The by-election was necessitated following the murder of sitting MLA and the then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29, 2023.

Though nine candidates are in the fray, the contest is mainly between the BJD, BJP and Congress.

The BJD has fielded Das's daughter Deepali Das, while the BJP has nominated Tankadhar Tripathy. The Congress has fielded Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey. All the three candidates are debutant contestants.