Sullia: The voting was peaceful in Sullia Taluk of Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency. No untoward incidents were reported.
Voting started at 7 in the morning. In some booths, voters started queuing up at as early as 6 AM.
There was swift voting in the morning which slowed down towards the afternoon but picked up the pace again late in the afternoon.
In a few places, EVMs had to be replaced owing to technical snags causing a delay in voting.
The sensitive voting booths of the Naxal infested areas of Sullia Taluk also witnessed swift voting. People voted without any fear. Strict security arrangements were in place to tackle any unforeseen incidents.
The Central Reserve Police Force, Police and Home Guards were available to provide tight security. All the critical voting booths including Naxal infested booths were provided with special security.
As many as 18 mobile squads were also pressed into service. Webcasting was done in 3 voting booths. Videography was done in 15 voting booths. In 58 voting booths, micro observers were appointed.
Local MLA S Angara arrived at the polling booth at the Doddathota Higher Primary school in the Amarachamudnoor village, with his family, at 7 AM to cast his vote. His daughter was a first-time voter.
Predicting the outcome, Angara said that he is confident that BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel will win the election with a huge margin of about 2 lakh votes. He also said that the BJP will get a lead of more than 50 thousand votes in the Sullia Legislative Assembly.
By 1 PM, 53.13 per cent voting was completed. The voting percentage reached 65.04 per cent by 3 PM.
