Karnataka Assembly polls: EC says 72% votes cast; lower than 2018 figure

New Delhi: Karnataka on Wednesday voted to decide whether or not the southern state will break the 38-year-old jinx of outing the incumbent government. The verdict will be out on May 13.

As per the latest figure, the voter turnout was 72 per cent. During the last Assembly polls in 2018, it was 72.13 per cent. The Election Commission (EC) said the final figures will be known by Thursday.

The EC said the polling to elect the next government in Karnataka was "largely peaceful" and that there was no indication that a repoll will be required at any of the voting stations.

The voting percentage for the 224-member Assembly showed Ramanagara recording the highest turnout of 78.22 per cent, while the lowest polling was reported from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) South (parts of Bengaluru city) at 48.63 per cent, election officials said.

In all, a total of 5.31-crore electors were eligible to cast their vote in 58,545 polling stations across the state, where 2,615 candidates were in the fray.

Polling was also held Wednesday for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, Jharsuguda Assembly seat in Odisha and Chhanbey assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh to fill the vacancies due to the death of sitting lawmakers.