BENGALURU: Counting of votes in the keenly contested RR Nagar and Sira Assembly bypolls and biennial elections to four Legislative Council seats, conducted amidst the Covid pandemic, will start early on Tuesday. Initial trends will trickle in around 10 am, while bypoll results are likely to start coming in by afternoon. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting that will begin by opening strongrooms in the presence of election observers and candidates at 7.45 am. Counting will start with postal ballots at 8 am and EVMs at 8.30 am. RR Nagar recorded a low voter turnout of 45.24 per cent, while Sira did well with 82.31 per cent.
Legislative Council constituencies, South-East graduates, West Graduates, Northeast Teachers and Bangalore teachers, had seen good turnouts of over 70 per cent voting. Though the outcome of bypolls will not have any bearing on the state government or the opposition, they are politically significant for all the three major parties. While the BJP is looking to further consolidate its position, Congress and JDS are fighting to retain their hold in the Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies. If exit polls are anything to go by, the BJP has an advantage in both seats, but the Congress is confident as well.
“I am confident of a good beginning,” state Congress president DK Shivakumar said on Monday, referring to his first election test after taking over as party state president. “Everyone in the party worked together and we will be successful as people will not leave us,” Shivakumar said. The low voter turnout at RR Nagar is an indication that the people are not happy with the government, he tried to reason.The BJP is confident of its candidate N Munirathna winning the RR Nagar seat. So sure that he is said to be already lobbying for the energy portfolio in the B S Yediyurappa cabinet.
Munirathna is banking on his connect with voters, and BJP support base. But Shivakumar and his MP-brother DK Suresh went all out to garner votes for party candidate H Kusuma. The JDS, however, seems to have focused more on retaining Sira, which was represented by the party MLA.
The BJP which went to polls with an aggressive strategy of pushing development agenda and micro-management of castes is confident of winning the Sira seat for the first time. The JDS is banking on the sympathy wave in favour of party candidate Ammajamma, who is the wife of former MLA late B Sathyanarayana, and Gowda’s connect with Vokkaliga voters. Jayachandra, who lost the 2018 elections by 10,000 votes, hopes to win the election.
RR Nagar: Heavy police security at counting centre
Bengaluru: The city police have made elaborate security arrangements around Government Arts College near KR Circle, where counting for the Rajarajeshwari Nagar bypoll will be held
on Tuesday. Police have also imposed ban orders under Section 144 in the 200 metre radius of the counting centre till Tuesday evening.
A senior police officer said that 600 police constables, ACPs, 20 police inspectors, 48 sub-inspectors, 76 assistant sub-inspectors and 360 head constables have been deployed at the counting centre. Deputy commissioners of police of respective police divisions have been given the responsibility of making security arrangements. Additionally, 899 police personnel, including nine platoons each of Karnataka State Reserve Police and City Armed Reserve have been deployed.A senior police officer said that all DCPs, ACPs and inspectors have been told to monitor the situation. Hoysala and Cheeta patrolling vehicles too have been deployed.