Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, software industry icon N R Narayana Murthy, his wife and Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty, former cricketer Rahul Dravid and actor Prakash Raj were among the early voters as polling began in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka on Friday.
Many booths reported brisk voting in the first hour of polling as people sought to "beat the heat". For the voters, comprising approximately 1.44 crore (14.4 million) men, 1.43 crore (14.3 million) women, and 3,067 individuals identifying as third gender, the EC has established 30,602 polling booths across the 14 constituencies.
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More than 1.40 lakh (140,000) polling officers, 5,000 micro observers and 50,000 civil police personnel, along with 65 companies of CRPF and Reserved Armed Forces from other states, have been put on standby to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls, the EC stated.As the state will be voting for the first time in this Lok Sabha elections on Friday, it will be a crucial fight for the JD(S), which is fighting for its political relevance as its ally, BJP, aims to increase its foothold in the south.