Women queue up to vote in Ullal on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement more-in Barring a reported heated exchange of words between the former Congress councillor in Kallapu in Ullal with a police officer, the election to the City Municipal Councils (CMCs) of Ullal and Puttur and Town Municipal Council of Bantwal passed off peacefully on Friday. The average polling at the three urban local bodies was 68.5%. There are 1.17 lakh voters in the three local bodies that have gone to polls in the district. While there are 44,132 voters in the Ullal CMC, where 102 persons are contesting from 31 wards, there are 39,745 voters in the Puttur CMC where 77 people are contesting from 31 wards. There are 34,102 voters in the Bantwal TMC where 71 persons are contesting from 27 wards. There was a good turnout in Bantwal with 24,676 persons (72.36 %) exercising their franchise. Nearly half of the electorate had voted by 1 p.m. As many as 28845 (65.36 %) voted in Ullal while 27,299 voted in Puttur by the end of polling at 5 p.m. There was a heated exchange between a Sub Inspector and the former Congress councillor Usman Kallapu in Kallapu when the former reportedly objected to the latter’s campaign near the polling booth. Following the spat, more number of policemen were posted at the polling booth. There were heated exchanges between the police and supporters of political parties in Melangadi, which is among the few wards in Ullal where the Social Democratic Party of India is keenly contesting against Congress. With the polling booth in Government Urdu School Melangadi being close to the busy public road connecting the Ullal Darghah, police had hard time clearing people from assembling near the polling booth. Brisk polling was seen in Mukkucherry ward where Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Asif, brother of BJP activist Zuber who was murdered by a group of persons outside the mosque in Mukkucherry in October 2017. Among those who exercised their franchise in the polling booth in Mukkucherry included 80-year-old Mohammed and 72-year-old Abdul Khader, who were brought in separate autorickshaws by their children. The Congress on Thursday orally accused booth-level officers in Panemangaluru Market in Bantwal of not properly distributing voter slips. The Congress activists accused that the BLOs have given the voter slips to private persons for distribution. Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumara said following an inquiry the officials found the allegation unfounded.

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