Karnataka bypolls 2024: Overall voter turnout at 26.33% till 11am in Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur

By 11 am, Karnataka's by-poll voter turnout reached 26.33 percent, with Channapatna at 27.02 percent, Shiggaon at 26.01 percent and Sandur at 25.96 percent.

By 11am, voter turnout showed encouraging levels across Karnataka’s three Assembly segments. Channapatna reached a turnout of 27.02 per cent, with Shiggaon at 26.01 per cent and Sandur close behind at 25.96 per cent, bringing the overall turnout to 26.33 per cent. Earlier, at 9am, an estimated total of 10.14 per cent of voters had cast their ballots. Channapatna had reported 10.34 per cent, Shiggaon 10.08 per cent, and Sandur 9.99 per cent, according to election officials.

Polling continues until 6pm across 770 stations in Karnataka's three assembly segments, with results expected on November 23.

READ | Karnataka by-poll 2024: 10.14% voting till 9am in three Assembly segments Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur

On Wednesday, BJP Karnataka President Vijayendra Yediyurappa encouraged residents to vote in large numbers, emphasizing the significance of democratic participation. “100% turnout: A boon to development. All the voters of Shiggavi, Sandur and Channapatna assembly constituencies are requested to prove the importance of democracy by exercising their rights compulsorily,” he wrote on social media platform X, with the hashtag #Byelections2024.

Despite physical challenges, several senior citizens were seen arriving at polling stations in wheelchairs, illustrating their commitment to the electoral process. Polling began at 7am and is set to continue until 6pm in Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur.

READ | Karnataka by-poll 2024: Voting underway in three Assembly segments Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur

These by-elections were triggered after the three Assembly seats were vacated when JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, former CM Basavaraj Bommai, and Congress’s E Tukaram assumed positions as union ministers. Now, 45 candidates are vying for these seats, with over seven lakh eligible voters casting ballots across roughly 770 polling stations. The results are expected on November 23.

In Channapatna, key candidates include Nikhil Kumaraswamy of JD(S) on an NDA ticket, facing five-time Congress MLA C. P. Yogeshwar. In Shiggaon, BJP’s Bharath Bommai, son of ex-CM Basavaraj Bommai, is up against Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan. Meanwhile, Congress candidate E Annapurna, spouse of Bellary MP E Tukaram, challenges BJP's Bangaru Hanumanthu in Sandur.