Gram Panchayat Election in Udupi and Karkala Taluks Begin

Media Reports
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 8 May 2010: The eagerly awaited gram panchayat elections in the Karnataka state in general and Udupi district in particular have already started. This election is quite important as it sets in motion the grass root democratic process in which the villagers choose their representatives in the basic administrative set up of their villages. The local developmental issues   take the front seat while the voters cast their votes in choosing the right type of candidates whom they know very well. Though the political parties do not field their candidates as members of their respective parties, the affiliation of the candidates to these political parties is obvious. 

The first phase of Gram Panchayat election in Udupi and Karkala taluks  are being held today, Saturday, 8th May 2010  between 7 am and 5 pm. The voting process has already started.

All the preparations have been made for the smooth conduct of the election. The personnel left for their respective polling booths from Udupi on Friday.  Police security has been provided to the sensitive and hyper sensitive polling booths.

More than 2,000 police personnel are be deployed for the proper conduct of the election. In the first phase, election will be held for 90 Gram Panchayats. This include 61 in Udupi and 29 in Karkala.

The fate of 2,300 candidates in Udupi and 1,026 candidates in Karkala will be sealed on Saturday. For the first phase, there are 473 polling booths. Of which, 120 are sensitive and 80 are hyper sensitive. A total 958 ballot boxes are used for the election. In the first phase, 2.85 lakh voters in Udupi and 1.25 lakh voters in Karkala taluk will decide the fate of the candidates. 

The gram panchayat elections in Kundapur taluk will be held on  12th May 2010.