Voting for the by-polls to the three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka began on Saturday, which is seen as a litmus test for the ruling Congress-JDS coalition.

Bypolls to Shivamogga, Mandya, and Ramanagara Lok Sabha seats, and Ballari and Jamkhandi assembly segments began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

A total of 54,54,275 voters are eligible to cast their franchise in about 6,450 polling stations.

There are a total 31 candidates in the fray in all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JDS combine and the BJP.&nbsp;

Counting of votes will be on Tuesday.

Officials at the state chief electoral officer's office said a total of 1,502 polling stations had been declared as sensitive.

More than 35,000 polling personnel will be on duty for the bypolls, in which 8,922 voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used, they added.

Senior police officials said elaborate security arrangements had been made in all the five constituencies.

The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), who came together in a post-poll alliance after the assembly elections in May threw up a hung House, have decided to fight the polls unitedly against the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While the Congress has fielded its candidates in Jamkhandi and Ballari, the JDS is contesting in Shivamogga, Ramanagara, and Mandya under an electoral understanding.

The outcome of the by-elections is expected to have a bearing on the alliance between the two ruling parties for the parliamentary polls and also be a factor in determining the respective bargaining power.

The BJP, which has been questioning the longevity of the coalition government, has predicted its fall once the bypoll results are out.

Among the prominent candidates in the fray is Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife, Anita Kumaraswamy, who is expected to have a smooth sail in Ramanagara after BJP nominee L Chandrashekhar withdrew from the contest and rejoined the Congress.

The BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission about the developments in Ramanagara and requested it to "annul" the elections immediately.

The bypolls brought to fore family politics with kin of several leaders being fielded.

In Jamkhandi, Congress candidate Anand Nyamagowda, son of former MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, is pitted against Srikant Kulkarni of the BJP.

In Shivamogga, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son, B Y Raghavendra, is testing his fortunes against another former chief minister S Bangarappa's son, Madhu Bangarappa, of the JDS.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
101% my son (BS Raghavendra) is going to win the Shimoga seat. We are also going to win Bellary &amp; Jamkhandi. We will get absolute majority in all the constituencies: Former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa <a href="https://t.co/XW6YQN9xwt">pic.twitter.com/XW6YQN9xwt</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1058540596753784832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In Ballari, senior BJP leader Sriramulu's sister, J Shantha, is fighting against V S Ugrappa of the Congress, considered an outsider.

In the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JDS' Shivarame Gowda, is pitted against a fresh face in Dr Siddaramaiah, a retired Commercial Tax officer from the BJP.

The announcement of the bypolls for the Lok Sabha seats came as a surprise to all the three major political parties in the state -- Congress, BJP and JD(S) -- who questioned the need for the exercise when the general elections are due early next year.

The by-elections have been necessitated after Yeddyurappa (Shivamogga) and Sriramalu (Ballari), and C S Puttaraju of the JDS (Mandya) resigned as MPs on their election to the assembly in May this year.

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Karnataka: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Earlyvisuals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Earlyvisuals</a> from a polling station in Bellary; voting for three parliamentary constituencies — Bellary, Shimoga, Mandya and two legislative assembly constituencies—Jamkhandi, Ramanagaram began at 7 am today. <a href="https://t.co/7tqZ1b6ou2">pic.twitter.com/7tqZ1b6ou2</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1058532547112636416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Bypolls to Jamkhandi assembly seat was caused by the death of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, while Ramanagara fell vacant after Kumaraswamy gave up the seat preferring Chennapatna, the other constituency from where he had won.

Voting for the by-polls to the three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka began on Saturday, which is seen as a litmus test for the ruling Congress-JDS coalition.

Voting for the by-polls to the three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka began on Saturday, which is seen as a litmus test for the ruling Congress-JDS coalition. Bypolls to Shivamogga, Mandya, and Ramanagara Lok Sabha seats, and Ballari and Jamkhandi assembly segments began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm. A total of 54,54,275 voters are eligible to cast their franchise in about 6,450 polling stations. There are a total 31 candidates in the fray in all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JDS combine and the BJP. Counting of votes will be on Tuesday. Officials at the state chief electoral officer's office said a total of 1,502 polling stations had been declared as sensitive. More than 35,000 polling personnel will be on duty for the bypolls, in which 8,922 voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used, they added. Senior police officials said elaborate security arrangements had been made in all the five constituencies. The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), who came together in a post-poll alliance after the assembly elections in May threw up a hung House, have decided to fight the polls unitedly against the Bharatiya Janata Party. While the Congress has fielded its candidates in Jamkhandi and Ballari, the JDS is contesting in Shivamogga, Ramanagara, and Mandya under an electoral understanding. The outcome of the by-elections is expected to have a bearing on the alliance between the two ruling parties for the parliamentary polls and also be a factor in determining the respective bargaining power. The BJP, which has been questioning the longevity of the coalition government, has predicted its fall once the bypoll results are out. Among the prominent candidates in the fray is Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife, Anita Kumaraswamy, who is expected to have a smooth sail in Ramanagara after BJP nominee L Chandrashekhar withdrew from the contest and rejoined the Congress. The BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission about the developments in Ramanagara and requested it to "annul" the elections immediately. The bypolls brought to fore family politics with kin of several leaders being fielded. In Jamkhandi, Congress candidate Anand Nyamagowda, son of former MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, is pitted against Srikant Kulkarni of the BJP. In Shivamogga, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son, B Y Raghavendra, is testing his fortunes against another former chief minister S Bangarappa's son, Madhu Bangarappa, of the JDS. 101% my son (BS Raghavendra) is going to win the Shimoga seat. We are also going to win Bellary & Jamkhandi. We will get absolute majority in all the constituencies: Former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa pic.twitter.com/XW6YQN9xwt — ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018 × In Ballari, senior BJP leader Sriramulu's sister, J Shantha, is fighting against V S Ugrappa of the Congress, considered an outsider. In the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JDS' Shivarame Gowda, is pitted against a fresh face in Dr Siddaramaiah, a retired Commercial Tax officer from the BJP. The announcement of the bypolls for the Lok Sabha seats came as a surprise to all the three major political parties in the state -- Congress, BJP and JD(S) -- who questioned the need for the exercise when the general elections are due early next year. The by-elections have been necessitated after Yeddyurappa (Shivamogga) and Sriramalu (Ballari), and C S Puttaraju of the JDS (Mandya) resigned as MPs on their election to the assembly in May this year. Karnataka: #Earlyvisuals from a polling station in Bellary; voting for three parliamentary constituencies — Bellary, Shimoga, Mandya and two legislative assembly constituencies—Jamkhandi, Ramanagaram began at 7 am today. pic.twitter.com/7tqZ1b6ou2 — ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018 × Bypolls to Jamkhandi assembly seat was caused by the death of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, while Ramanagara fell vacant after Kumaraswamy gave up the seat preferring Chennapatna, the other constituency from where he had won.

Karnataka by-polls: Voting for three parliamentary constituencies underway

Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.&nbsp

Petrol price today increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi —the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros and most state capitals.

With this increase, petrol has touched an all-time-high, breaching the previous high of Rs 76.06 touched in Delhi on September 14, 2013. Diesel rates are also at the all-time high level.

This is the seventh straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, petrol price has been raised by Rs 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last one week.

In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes have led a price of Rs 84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached Rs 80 mark in Bhopal (Rs 81.83 a litre), Patna (Rs 81.73), Hyderabad (Rs 80.76) and Srinagar (Rs 80.35), according to the price notification.

Petrol in Kolkatta costs Rs 78.91 per litre while it is priced at Rs 79.13 in Chennai.

On Friday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers.

The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting $80 a barrel -- the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating.

Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about Rs 5 billion (Rs 500 crore) on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three-week hiatus.

This is the seventh straight day of petrol price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus.

Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. Petrol price today increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi —the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms. Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros and most state capitals. With this increase, petrol has touched an all-time-high, breaching the previous high of Rs 76.06 touched in Delhi on September 14, 2013. Diesel rates are also at the all-time high level. This is the seventh straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, petrol price has been raised by Rs 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last one week. In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes have led a price of Rs 84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached Rs 80 mark in Bhopal (Rs 81.83 a litre), Patna (Rs 81.73), Hyderabad (Rs 80.76) and Srinagar (Rs 80.35), according to the price notification. Petrol in Kolkatta costs Rs 78.91 per litre while it is priced at Rs 79.13 in Chennai. On Friday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers. The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting $80 a barrel -- the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating. Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about Rs 5 billion (Rs 500 crore) on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three-week hiatus.

Petrol prices now above Rs 84/litre in Mumbai, Rs 76 in Delhi

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Karnataka chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday said that his party would resister resounding victory in the state and decimated the Congress government with an overwhelming majority.

Addressing a press conference here, Yeddyurappa expressed confidence that there is a strong wave in favour of his party. 
"I have seen the exit polls. BJP will win more than 125-130 seats. Congress will not be able to cross 70 seats and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) will not cross 24-25 seats. There is a silent and strong wave in favour of BJP and public anger against Siddaramaiah and Congress," he said.

"This will be known when the results would be declared on Tuesday. BJP will form the government with an absolute majority, while Congress will exit from Karnataka," he added.

When asked about Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's advice on not believing the exit polls, Yeddyurappa said, "I am not saying this. Congress knows that it will lose in the election. There is no question of a hung assembly. I am confident that the BJP will form the government."

The BJP leader, while reacting to Siddaramaiah's statement on calling him "mentally disturbed" added that he was making such statements because he would lose the Chamundeshwari and Badami seats where the Karnataka Chief Minister is contesting from.

Responding to Yeddyurappa's previous statement that he would form the government in the state on May 17, Siddaramaiah quipped on Saturday, "He's mentally disturbed now."

Asked about the possible formation of the BJP government in the state, Yeddyurappa further said, "He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is in touch with me and (BJP President) Amit Shah. Everybody is confident of winning with an absolute majority. We are 100 percent sure of forming the government on May 17."

The Assembly polls, which began at 7 a.m. at 58,546 polling stations earlier in the day concluded at 7 p.m. The Election Commission (EC) said that voter turnout recorded was 70 percent, compared to 71.4 percent in 2013 elections in Karnataka.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates were in the fray for the assembly elections this year.

While Belagavi district had the highest number of voters (37,23,585), Kodagu district had the lowest voter share (4,33,846).

The election in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru was postponed earlier.

In Jayanagar, the polling was also deferred due to the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, B N Vijay Kumar, on May 4. 
In Rajarajeshwari Nagar, the polling was postponed after a bundle of fake voter identity cards was found from a flat in Bengaluru's Jalahalli locality by the EC officials on May 8. Polling for this seat is scheduled for May 28, while counting of votes will take place on May 31.

The EC ordered the re-polling of the Hebbal assembly constituency's polling station number 2 in Bengaluru as the polling was stopped earlier on Saturday due to a technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

As per the EC, a total of 600 pink polling stations were set up across the state, which was completely managed by women. Meanwhile, wheelchairs were also made available in some stations, with youth volunteers engaged for the assistance of differently-abled voters. 
Tight security arrangements were made to ensure smooth and peaceful single-phase polling in 222 constituencies, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 26 in Bengaluru.

The counting of votes and announcement of results will take place on Tuesday.

The Election Commission (EC) said that voter turnout recorded was 70 percent, compared to 71.4 percent in 2013 elections in Karnataka.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Karnataka chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday said that his party would resister resounding victory in the state and decimated the Congress government with an overwhelming majority. Addressing a press conference here, Yeddyurappa expressed confidence that there is a strong wave in favour of his party. "I have seen the exit polls. BJP will win more than 125-130 seats. Congress will not be able to cross 70 seats and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) will not cross 24-25 seats. There is a silent and strong wave in favour of BJP and public anger against Siddaramaiah and Congress," he said. "This will be known when the results would be declared on Tuesday. BJP will form the government with an absolute majority, while Congress will exit from Karnataka," he added. When asked about Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's advice on not believing the exit polls, Yeddyurappa said, "I am not saying this. Congress knows that it will lose in the election. There is no question of a hung assembly. I am confident that the BJP will form the government." The BJP leader, while reacting to Siddaramaiah's statement on calling him "mentally disturbed" added that he was making such statements because he would lose the Chamundeshwari and Badami seats where the Karnataka Chief Minister is contesting from. Responding to Yeddyurappa's previous statement that he would form the government in the state on May 17, Siddaramaiah quipped on Saturday, "He's mentally disturbed now." Asked about the possible formation of the BJP government in the state, Yeddyurappa further said, "He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is in touch with me and (BJP President) Amit Shah. Everybody is confident of winning with an absolute majority. We are 100 percent sure of forming the government on May 17." The Assembly polls, which began at 7 a.m. at 58,546 polling stations earlier in the day concluded at 7 p.m. The Election Commission (EC) said that voter turnout recorded was 70 percent, compared to 71.4 percent in 2013 elections in Karnataka. A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates were in the fray for the assembly elections this year. While Belagavi district had the highest number of voters (37,23,585), Kodagu district had the lowest voter share (4,33,846). The election in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru was postponed earlier. In Jayanagar, the polling was also deferred due to the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, B N Vijay Kumar, on May 4. In Rajarajeshwari Nagar, the polling was postponed after a bundle of fake voter identity cards was found from a flat in Bengaluru's Jalahalli locality by the EC officials on May 8. Polling for this seat is scheduled for May 28, while counting of votes will take place on May 31. The EC ordered the re-polling of the Hebbal assembly constituency's polling station number 2 in Bengaluru as the polling was stopped earlier on Saturday due to a technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). As per the EC, a total of 600 pink polling stations were set up across the state, which was completely managed by women. Meanwhile, wheelchairs were also made available in some stations, with youth volunteers engaged for the assistance of differently-abled voters. Tight security arrangements were made to ensure smooth and peaceful single-phase polling in 222 constituencies, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 26 in Bengaluru. The counting of votes and announcement of results will take place on Tuesday.

Karnataka polls: BJP will win over 125 seats, asserts Yeddyurappa

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Karnataka by-polls: Voting for three parliamentary constituencies underway

Petrol prices now above Rs 84/litre in Mumbai, Rs 76 in Delhi

Karnataka polls: BJP will win over 125 seats, asserts Yeddyurappa