They elected not to vote …..S Kushala | TNN
He was one among those who stepped into a polling booth early in the day to exercise his franchise, but stood before the EVM without pressing a button. I dont want to vote. Im not aware of the candidates who are contesting. I dont want to vote for a party without knowing the candidates, he told the officials.
But, according to the rules, this had to be entered in the polling station register. And Raghu S, the man in his late 20s, wrote it in his statement, I dont want to vote for the candidate whom I dont know. Yet, he had the ink mark on his finger!
This was a trend in the Bangalore elections, and was very much a part of the rulesto be a part of the process, yet be indifferent; register yourself, not the vote, and avoid proxy voting.
At a polling booth in Bangalore South constituency, voter Suvaran Mulki wrote this stinker: The candidates who are contesting from this area are all rogues. I dont want to support them as each vote matters. So I am not voting. But I dont want any proxy voting.
According to the polling officers, they were directed not to persuade voters to vote. But they had to register their vote in writing and get the ink mark on their fingers. This was not the trend during the last polls, said a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) employee, also a polling officer. While the lack of knowledge about candidates was a common reason quoted for not voting, some registers also had statements: I dont want the real estate mafia to rule Bangalore politically…. We cant have criminals contesting the elections and becoming our representatives… I am for democracy, but not to be ruled by land encroachers…
TAKING A STAND: The move by some Bangalore voters to visit polling booths and register themselves, not their votes, also avoids proxy voting
Police misbehaved with actress Smriti: BJP
Belgaum: The Karnataka BJP filed a complaint on Tuesday with the election
commissioner alleging that the Tilakwadi police had misbehaved with their party worker and television actor, Smriti Irani. Smriti was stopped and subjected to a check in the absence of any women personnel on Monday night. She was later asked to come to the police station and made to wait for a long time before being allowed to leave. Smriti, who plays a lead role in a soap opera, had attended a road show in Belgaum. AGENCIES