HUBBALLI: The polling in the Shiggaon Assembly by-election went off without any incident on Wednesday. Though polling was slow in the early hours, it picked up pace towards afternoon.
When initial reports on polling percentage came, it was 80.48, and it is expected to cross 80.47 recorded in the 2023 Assemby poll. Of the total 2,37,669 votes, 1,91,116 were polled, of which 98,642 were male and 92,522 were female.
Former Chief Minister and Haveri MP Basavaraj Bommai and his son and BJP candidate Bharat Bommai stood in a queue, and voted. Congress candidate Yasirkhan Pathan voted in a booth, where an elder from the Kuruba community performed puja at the entrance before voting began.
Bharat expressed confidence that voters will continue to bless the Bommai family, while Pathan felt that the people of the constituency want a change.
Election boycotted
Voters of Dandipeth area in Savanur town boycotted polling, protesting against the failure of the district administration to distribute records of rights for their land.
The residents said around 80 families, consisting of around 500 votes, have been living there for over 70 years and the area has families of all religions. Though it is revenue land, some years ago, the Anjuman-e-Islam, a local Muslim body, registered the land as its own.