Coastal districts lead the state in polling percentage half-way through

MANGALURU

: The coast on Saturday demonstrated that its heart is in the right place when it comes to electoral politics, witnessing good voter turnouts in the three coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada,

Udupi

and

Uttara Kannada

districts.

Barring an unfortunate incident of a 70-year-old identified as Anni Achari, passing away due to a heart attack at Andinje polling booth of Belthangady Taluk, the polling was peaceful and uneventful under the watchful eye of the security personnel placed at strategic points by the district administration.

Right from the start of the day, there were serpentine queues at almost all the polling booths in the coastal districts and by 1 pm, had recorded above 45% polling, with Dakshina Kannada topping at 47%.

While Puttur assembly constituency recorded highest poll percentage of 51% at 1 pm of the eight constituencies in DK, the urban constituency of Mangaluru City South recorded lowest at 39%. The rest of the assembly constituencies were as follows: Mangaluru North 48%, Belthangady 52%, Moodbidri 43%, Ullal 47%, Bantwal 53% and Sullia at 43%. In Udupi district, the polling percentage was at 45% at 1 pm. The key constituency of Bantwal also saw very high percentage where a pitched battle is going on between district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai against Rajesh Naik of BJP but is touted as the fight between Rai and RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat.

In Udupi district, the polling percentage was high 50.66% overall, with the key

Udupi assembly

constituency witnessing a turnout of 50.96%, where minister Pramod Madhwaraj is in a pitched battle with BJP’s Raghupathi Bhat with Shiroor Seer Laxmivara Theertha Seer supporting him. While Kaup recorded 49.44%, Karkala saw a good turn out with 52.13%, Baindoor at 50.62% and Kundapur recorded 49.78%.

The polling saw also heartening instances of would be bride Viola Maria Fernandes, who was to enter into wedlock on the poll day at Belthangady 10.30am, about 60 km away from Mangaluru, turned up at the polling station in her white wedding gown. she is getting married to Sylvester Rodrigues of Belthangady.

The polling day also saw as many as 100 transgenders in the city exercise their franchise for the first time. While the highest number was in Mangaluru North assembly constituency at 56 in

Mangaluru South

, there was one in Beltangady, 13 in Moodbidri, eight in Mangaluru North, 13 in Ullal, six in Bantwal and three in Puttur. The election also saw about a majority of the three per cent of the first time and millennial exercising their franchise and proudly exhibiting their index finger with indelible ink.