Bangalore: Voting was dull on the morning hours of Saturday, in the 3 constituencies going to by-polls under Operation Lotus, at Channapatna, Jagalur and Bangarpet which had assumed an aura of prestige fights.
There were 33 candidates for 3 seats (8 in Jagalur, 15 in Channapatna and 10 in Bangarpet) with 5 lakh voters exercising their rights.
Police had made careful arrangements to maintain law and order, and till the end at 5pm polling was smooth. Voting in Channapatna was recorded at 51%, in Jagalur also 51% and in Bangarpet, a woeful 48% (in view of anxiety over Sathya Saibabas’s health?)
In Jagalur 400 names were missing from voters’ list and in Bangarpet, people boycotted polls in a village (Kadrinatam). In all 3 regions, voters boycotted in 41 polling booths. On the whole, voting was encouraging due to forced contest.