Bangalore, April 30 (IANS) About 45 percent of an estimated 15.5 million voters had cast their ballots by 3 p.m. Thursday in 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka, officials said.
The coastal Dakshina Kannada constituency, where former central minister B. Janardhana Poojary is locked in a straight fight with Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) first-time contestant Nalin Kumar Katilu, reported about 50 percent voting, state election authorities said.
In Dharwad, Haveri, Bagalkot, Udupi-Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Hassan, Mysore, Mandya and Chamarajnagar the voter turnout was between 40 and 45, officials said.
Balloting began at 7 a.m. in 18,452 booths in the second and final phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Among the early voters were Janata Dal-Secular president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Hassan, Kannada film star M.H. Ambareesh of Congress in Mandya, former central minister B. Janardhana Poojary of Congress in Dakshina Kannada, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his son and BJP nominee B.Y. Raghavendra in Shimoga.
The first phase of polling took place in 17 constituencies April 23.
The poll panel has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth voting through 21,610 electronic voting machines (EVMs). More than 2,700 video recorders and digital cameras will record the voting process, added the official.
Around 55,000 security personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.
More than 50,000 poll officials are on duty with over 5,600 micro-observers to ensure fair election.
In three constituencies of Shimoga, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur, women voters outnumber men.
The number of women voters in Shimoga is 701,605 and there are 696,774 male voters; in Udupi-Chikmagalur there are 618,990 women and 584,860 men voters registered, while in Dakshina Kannada, there are 675,002 women and 658,174 men voters.
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