The first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka saw enthusiastic participation as voters cast their ballots in 14 constituencies, marking another electoral showdown between the Congress and BJP. As per poll officials, the voter turnout stood at 63.90% by 5 pm.
Among the constituencies, Mandya recorded the highest turnout at 74.87%, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur and Hassan at 72.13%, while Bangalore Central witnessed the lowest turnout at 48.61%. The Congress contested in all 14 seats, while the BJP fielded candidates in 11 and its ally JD(S) in three constituencies (Hassan, Mandya, and Kolar).
Unlike the multi-cornered contest in the previous Assembly elections, the current general election is primarily a face-off between the BJP-JD(S) alliance and the Congress. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-JD(S) alliance secured only one seat each, while the BJP emerged victorious in 11 out of these 14 segments.
Key contenders in the first phase include Tejasvi Surya, Shobha Karandlaje, Soumya Reddy, DK Suresh, Prajwal Revanna, Shreyas Patel, and Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
Karnataka Constituencies Voting in Phase 2:
- Udupi-Chikmagalur
- Dakshina Kannada
- Chitradurga
- Tumkur
- Mysore
- Chamarajanagar
- Bangalore Rural
- Bangalore North
- Bangalore Central
- Bangalore South
- Hassan
- Mandya
- Kolar
- Chikkballapur
