MASKI (RAICHUR): The countdown has begun for the by-election to the Maski (ST-Reserved) constituency with the polling staff reaching 305 booths with necessary polling material, including EVMs and VVPATs, on Friday evening. This is the first time that the polling is being held for 12 hours, to allow voters to follow Covid protocols.
On Friday, the mustering was held at Devanampriya Ashoka Degree College, Maski from 8 am till 1 pm,In all, eight candidates are in the fray -- Pratapgouda Patil of BJP, Basanagouda Turvihal of Congress, Obaleshappa BT of Karnataka Rastriya Samiti, Deepika S, Srinivas Nayak, Amaresh, Ishappa and Basanagouda (all five independents). But a close fight is expected between Pratapgouda Patil of BJP and Basanagouda Turvihal of Congress. Both BJP and Congress have considered winning the Maski by-election a prestige issue.