Karnataka Assembly Election 2023 LIVE: Voting enters final hour

On Thursday, Karnataka is polling to elect a new government, and stakes are high for the BJP and higher for the Congress with 2,615 candidates in the fray for 224 assembly constituencies. Polling is scheduled across 58,545 polling stations including auxiliary ones, and a total of 42,48,028 new voters have been registered to vote for the elections.

As many as 5.3 crore voters are eligible to cast their vote across 58,545 polling stations in 37,777 locations, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said. Among them, 11,71,558 are young voters and 12,15,920 are senior citizens (aged 80 and above).

The polling in Karnataka, which began at 7 am, is scheduled to close at 6 pm. Shortly after this, news channels will publish their exit polls, conducted with polling agencies.

As many as 23 people were arrested after a poll official was mandhandled in Vijayapura’s Masabinala village. The attackers also damaged control and ballot units.

A turnout of 52.18% recorded till 3 pm, as per poll body’s data. The polling began at 7 am is scheduled to go on till 5 pm.

37.25% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm.

While the ruling BJP is relying on extensive campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress hopes that the momentum it has created over the past year will yield results. The JD(S) nurses the ambition of becoming the “kingmaker” in case of a fractured verdict.

Karnataka reported 20.99% voter turnout at 11 am on Wednesday. The numbers at 11 am presented showed an increase in voter turnout compared to the last election. In 2018, at 11 am, only 17% of voter turnout was reported.

---

Next Story :

Now you can get the latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram every day. Click the link to subscribe.  Click to follow Indtoday’s Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates