K'taka: 25% vote till noon

25 per cent of the 1.59 crore electorate, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda casted their vote till noon.

An estimated 25 per cent of the 1.59 crore electorate, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda casted their vote in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the second and final phase in Karnataka till noon.

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Deve Gowda, the JD-S President, exercised his franchise at Padavalahippe in Holenarsipura Assembly segment of Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, from where he is seeking election. His son H D Revanna is contesting from Holenarsipura.

Gowda has also contested from Kanakapura Lok Sabha constituency, from where he was elected in a bye-election two years ago. Kanakapura went to polls in the first phase, that saw elections on April 20 in 15 Lok Sabha and 120 Assembly constituencies of the state, where the total turn-out was 62.70 per cent.

Among the prominent contestants in the second phase are: former Chief Minister S Bangarappa (Shimoga), who joined the BJP recently deserting Congress, another former Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily (Congress) from Mangalore and scion of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar (Congress) from Mysore.

Moily and KPCC President B Janardhan Poojary were among the early voters in the Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency.

Security has been beefed up in Karnataka, which witnessed violent incidents during campaigning by three main parties -- the Congress, BJP and JD-S -- that generated more than heat and dust and, at times, was bitter.

In the second phase, elections are being held in the remaining 13 Lok Sabha and 104 Assembly segments.