Top leaders in fray for 2nd phase of K'tka polls

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Polling began on Friday in 66 Assembly constituencies in ten districts of Karnataka in the second phase of election which decides the electoral fortunes of BJP Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, former Chief Minister S Bangarappa and former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash.

An estimated 1.10 crore electorate are eligible to exercise their franchise in 12,286 polling stations under the watchful eyes of 56,000 security personnel.

Districts of Uudpi, Chikmagalur, Shimoga and Dakshina Kannada have come under an unprecedented security cover in the wake of a call given by naxals to people to boycott voting, and shoot-at-sight orders are in force in this region.

Bellary, where mine owners are in electoral battle, has been bracketed by Election Commission as one of the sensitive area and is under siege by security personnel.

The authorities were forced to rush additional reinforcements in the wake of an alleged attack by BJP leader and former minister B Sriramulu on a Congress activist on Thursday.

Prominent among the 589 candidates in fray included, R V Deshapnde of Congress, bidding for a seventh successive victory in Haliyal, four time Raichur MP Venkaesh Naik from Congress, bidding to enter Assembly against his own grandson Shivannagouda Naik in Raichur, Shakuntala Shetty, BJP rebel in Puttur, Bangarappa's son - Kumar and Madhu, waging a hurculean battle in Soraba, K S Eswarappa of BJP seeking re-election in Shimoga.

Mahima Patel, son of former Chief Minister late J H Patel, is looking for a second term from Chennagiri segment.

The other MP who is contesting the assembly polls in this phase is BJP's G Karunakara Reddy. Reddy, who represents Bellary Lok Sabha seat, is fighting against former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash of Congress from Harappanahalli constituency in neighbouring Davanagere district.

The battle of ballot in Shikaripura has already hogged the limelight where Congress and JDS have unilaterally extended support to Samajwadi Party candidate Bangarappa against Yeddyurappa.

Other notables involved in the contest are Visveshwara Hegde Kageri of BJP from Sirsi, Araga Jnanendra, trying for fifth win from Thirthahalli, B Nagaraj shetty (BJP) and B Ramanath Rai (Cong), both locking horns in Bantwal.

The constituencies going to polls in ten districts of Raichur, Koppal, Uttara Kannada, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Shimoga, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada hold key for BJP, which is striving to install the party government.

The saffron party had notched up 37 seats from these districts in the 2004 elections, compared to 22 by Congress and 14 by JDS.

The BJP has made the JDS's betrayal on the power transfer issue a major poll plank in these Lingayat and dalit dominated areas to drum up support.