Bangalore, April 26
Karnataka recorded 60 per cent polling in the second phase of polling today, where 13 Lok Sabha seats and 104 Assembly seats were contested before an electorate of 15.9 million.

Announcing the tentative figure here, Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Dasgupta said that repolls were likely in six polling stations in Chamarjnagar, where a mob grabbed the EVMs and set them fire on. Trouble was also witnessed in Belgaum (where polling was adjourned in one booth) and in Dharwad. Barring these incidents, polling was peaceful, he said.

There were again some complaints about missing names from voter lists, but “these were stray cases,” Mr Dasgupta said.

Among the candidates whose fate was decided in the second phase was former Prime Minster H.D. Deve Gowda, who is contesting the Hassan LS seat (in addition to the Kanakapura LS seat he contested in the first phase). He charged the ruling Congress party with misadministration and interference in the polling process.

Mr Gowda is not the only former Chief Minister in the fray. The prestigious Shimoga seat is being contested by Mr Bangarappa, who recently moved to the BJP. He is up against Ayanur Manjunath, who moved from the BJP to the Congress.

Adding further interest in the region is the Soraba Assembly seat in the same district, where Bangarappa’s two sons are contesting against each other - Madhu, who has his father’s favour, on a BJP ticket, and estranged son Kumar on a Congress ticket.