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Under a scorching sun and amidst a severe drought, a total of 2,59,52,958 electors, including 35,465 service voters, will seal the fate of 227 candidates — 206 men and 21 women — as 14 constituencies from North and Central Karnataka go to polls today in Phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections 2024. As many as 1,40,705 polling personnel, including reserve police, have been deployed in these constituencies.
The segments going to polls are: Chikkodi, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Ballari, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shivamogga. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the State then.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 | Tracking the Polls in Karnataka
Complaints about regional imbalances and unkept promises — especially related to irrigation projects — remained an undercurrent, though constantly overshadowed by communal narratives and blame game between parties during campaigning in the region. The Neha Hiremath murder case and the Prajwal Revanna sexual assault case have only added fuel to the fire.
The Election Commission of India has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls. Apart from conducting electoral awareness to deal with urban apathy and increase voter turnout, the EC has initiated measures to ensure that the extreme heatwave conditions do not affect voter turnout, especially among senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwD).
Lok Sabha elections 2024 | Conversations with candidates in Karnataka
To help voters navigate their way to the polling station, the Election Commission has also come out with the ‘Chunavana’ mobile app, which will offer users polling booth location, navigation to the polling booth, candidate information, polling officers’ details, the queue at the polling station on a real-time basis, available parking space and nearby emergency facilities.
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