Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa claimed that EVMs in a particular booth were all giving votes to the lotus – BJP’s poll symbol.

Brijesh Kalapapa said that the party would take it up with the Election Commission. He wrote: “There are 5 booths opposite my Parent's apartment at RMV II Stage, Bengaluru.

In the 2nd booth, any button pressed registers a vote ONLY to kiwi mele Kamala i.e Kamal ke phool. Angry voters are returning without casting their vote. So far we have received 3 complaints of malfunctioning EVM/VVPAT across the State including from Ramanagara, Chamarajpet and Hebbal. The INC is taking up these issues with the EC.”

Around 64 per cent voter turnout was reported till 5 pm in the single-phase Karnataka Assembly elections today, poll officials said.

Voting, which began on a moderate note, gathered momentum in the afternoon as the deadline neared, they said.

During polling PM Modi had taken a dig at the Congress saying : "CAG wrong, Congress right. Police wrong, Congress right. Army wrong, Congress right. EC and EVM wrong, Congress right. Judiciary wrong, Congress right. 125 crore Indians wrong, Congress right".

Congress and BJP workers were locked in minor scuffles at some places, accusing each other of trying to bribe the voters, the officials said.

The election is witnessing a three-cornered contest among the ruling Congress, the BJP and the JDS. According to election observers, the JDS is expected to play the role of a kingmaker in the event of a fractured mandate.

During the 2013 Assembly elections, the voter turnout was 71.45 per cent. Today Polling is being held for 222 out of 224 seats.

The polls, which began at 7 a.m at 58,546 polling stations, each equipped with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), will conclude at 6 pm.

A total of 2,654 candidates are in the fray and 4.96-crore electorate, including 2.44 crore women, will cast their votes. Over 15 lakh people are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group.

Tight security is in place 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 election in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, has been postponed.

In Jayanagar, the polling has been deferred due to the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, B N Vijay Kumar, while in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, it has been postponed due to fake voter-ID row.

Counting and the results of the election will be announced on Tuesday 15th may.