Looking for Yeddyurappa?

10

H R Venkatesh sent updates from his phone, till 5 pm in the evening on Counting Day, Karnataka. Here are excerpts. 4:30 pm: I'm out on Brigade Road to catch a few peoples' reactions, now that the BJP looks like it will rule for 5 years. Roughly half the people I go to shake their heads and say they are not Bangaloreans. A college student says the new government should do something about the city's night life. A mother of three says she will be happy if the new government fulfills even 10 per cent of their poll promises. Most people say something should be done about the traffic. None of them talk of farmers' problems or price rise, but then again, Brigade Road is hardly the place to find such reactions. 3 pm: Still no sign of the CM-to-be at his house. There's a....

Bangalore Votes: Live Updates via Blackberry

10

As Bangalore votes, H R Venkatesh blogs live on his Blackberry. 8:30 pm: A quick rejoinder to those who questioned, in the comments section, as to whether I should have disclosed who I'd voted for, or if I was flippant in my choice. Is it okay for a journalist to have political leanings? That's an old question and I believe the answer should be no. So I did not want to vote for either the Congress, the BJP or the JD(S). However, I did not want for anyone else to vote in my name - hence my decision to pick an independent candidate. 8 pm: The Chief Election Commissioner reads out the astonishing statistics in a packed conference room at the Election Commission. 60 percent of the registered voters turned up through Old Mysore, Bangalore, Tumkur and Kolar, in some cases, despite the blazing heat. The....