By IANS,
Bangalore : A hundred thousand election officials and nearly 60,000 police and paramilitary personnel Friday spread out in 89 constituencies in 11 southern districts of Karnataka to conduct the first phase Saturday of the elections to pick a 224-member assembly.
Voting will take place in 18,562 polling booths from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the evening to decide the electoral fortunes of over 950 candidates, 17 of them women.
In the 28 constituencies in Bangalore urban district, 13,000 police personnel and officers will be on duty to ensure smooth voting in 5,685 booths, Bangalore Police Commissioner N. Achutha Rao told reporters.
Around 2,000 polling booths have been classified as “hyper-sensitive”, meaning they are prone to violence. Rao said 600 mobile squads will also be on duty Saturday.
Over 1,000 people with criminal record had been arrested in the city and Rs.7 million worth of liqúor stored for distribution to induce voters had been seized, he said.
Over ll of the 18,562 booths, 6,252 including 2,000 in Bangalore urban district are considered hyper-sensitive.
The total number of security personnel on duty in the 89 constituencies will be around 58,000, according to Director General of Police R. Sri Kumar.
Of this 25,000 are from the state police, 15,000 Homeguards, 15,000 paramilitary forces and 3,000 from the Karnataka State Reserve Police.
Across the state, more than 14,000 people who the police suspected were likely to indulge in unlawful activities were arrested and released after obtaining bonds for good behaviour.
The police have booked over 120 cases against people for trying to induce voters by giving them sarees and TVs. Goods worth Rs.60 million have been seized, Sri Kumar told reporters.
The police also seized Rs.153 million in cash form various people across the state suspecting that this was to be distributed among voters.