Udupi: Educated Voters Queued up Early to Cast Votes in Urban Polling Centers

By Snehalatha, Udupi
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 5 May 2013: The polling for the assembly elections has begun across the district.  The voters have queued up early before the polling centers began functioning at 7.00am on Sunday May 5.  The political leaders, religious, dignitaries, candidates of different political parties exercised their franchisee on early morning.

In the district that has highest literacy in the country, with the people known to criticize on government, elected representatives and infrastructural needs has witnessed 60 percent voters turnout in the urban areas in every elections in the past, while the rural area always recorded 80 percent voters’ turnout.

 

As a result of district Electioneering office conducted people’s awareness programme in the importance of casting votes ahead of assembly elections, more number of educated voters in the urban areas were found queued up since early morning.
The district registered poll turnout of 75.88 percent during the assembly elections held in 2008.  The district Election office embarked on SWEEP programme to create peoples’ awareness on casting votes with the objective of achieving poll turnout of 85 to 90 percent.  It’s most likely to be somewhere between 80 to 85 percent.

The polling centers are heavily guarded, by four platoons of state armed reserve personnel, 15 platoons of paramilitary personnel, besides heavily armed guards are deployed in sensitive and extremely sensitive polling centers across the district. 
Overall, the polling is peaceful so far across the district.

Swami Vishveshateerta of Pejavar mutt cast his vote at the polling center located at north school, here.  Congress leader Oscar and Blossom Fernandes couple cast their votes at the polling center located at Ajjarkad school, Kaup Congress candidate Vinay Kumr Sorake, wife and daughter cast their votes at the polling center located at Women’s College, here.