Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, software industry pioneer N R Narayana Murthy, his wife and Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty, former cricketer Rahul Dravid, and actor Prakash Raj were among the first to vote in Karnataka’s 14 Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday.
Dire water shortages, flooding, congested roads, and inadequate municipal services have emerged as key challenges in Bengaluru, locals claimed as they voted in a general election dominated by jobs, inflation, and Hindu nationalism. The southern metropolis of roughly 14 million people, the headquarters of Karnataka state, and commonly referred to as “India’s Silicon Valley,” voted in the summer heat in the second round of the world’s largest election, which will run until June 1.
Bengaluru has four Lok Sabha seats: Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore South, and Bengaluru Central.
This phase is part of a seven-phase election process that began at 7 a.m. in 89 parliamentary seats spread over 13 states. The second round of voting includes seats in the following states: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir. The following stages of the general election will take place on May 7, 13, 20, 25, and June 1, accordingly.
