Watch: Long Queues Outside Bengaluru Hotel For Free Benne Khali Dosa, Ghee Laddu On Polling Day

Voters with inked fingers in Karnataka’s Bengaluru queued up outside Nisarga Grand Hotel on Nrupathunga Road to relish on the offer of free benne khali dosa, ghee laddu and juice on Friday.

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The hotel’s offer, valid for all those who cast their vote in the state for the Lok Sabha elections, is aimed at boosting the voter turnout. Lengthy queues were seen outside the Nisarga Grand Hotel.

From youngsters to senior citizens, several smiling faces with their inked fingers were seen eagerly waiting for their turn to get their food.

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Split into two phases, 14 of the 28 seats went to polls on Friday morning in the state, including all four Bengaluru constituencies. A voter turnout of 22.34 per cent was recorded till 11 am in Karnataka.

Apart from this, a resto-pub in Bellandur, Deck of Brews, has decided to offer free mug of beer and discounts to voters on April 27 and 28.

“We want to reward voters who have participated in the and contributed to the nation’s development,” the owner of the pub, Prafulla Raya, was quoted as saying by TOI. Another famous chain of pubs, SOCIAL, also introduced a special initiative. They will issue special bills with a message encouraging citizens to vote.

Taxi service, Rapido, announced free auto and cab rides for differently-abled and senior citizen voters in Bengaluru city. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) also extended the metro services beyond the regular operating hours for Friday.

Key candidates in Bengaluru are BJP’s Tejasvi Surya against Congress’ Sowmya Reddy in the South segment. While the grand old party’s DK Suresh — brother of Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar — is pitted against BJP’s Dr CN Manjunath.

In Bengaluru North, a stronghold for the BJP, party candidate and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje is contesting opposite Congress’ MV Rajeev Gowda. Whereas Bengaluru Central’s sitting MP PC Mohan is fighting the polls against Congress candidate Mansoor Ali Khan.

Other than the four Bengaluru seats — Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru Central — the constituencies that are voting today are, Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Kolar, Mandya and Chikkaballapur.

Notably, voting for 88 constituencies across 13 states and Union Territories in the country is currently underway.

Explore Live updates on the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2 In regions, including Kerala , Karnataka , Noida , and West Bengal . Stay informed about key constituencies, voting trends, and candidate insights. Get Lok Sabha Election 2024 Related Real-Time Updates At News18 Website.