Bangalore, May 9 (IANS) A hundred thousand election officials and nearly 60,000 police and paramilitary personnel Friday spread out in 89 constituencies in 11 southern districts of Karnataka to conduct the first phase Saturday of the elections to pick a 224-member assembly. Voting will take place in 18,562 polling booths from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the evening to decide the electoral fortunes of over 950 candidates, 17 of them women.

In the 28 constituencies in Bangalore urban district, 13,000 police personnel and officers will be on duty to ensure smooth voting in 5,685 booths, Bangalore Police Commissioner N. Achutha Rao told reporters.

Around 2,000 polling booths have been classified as “hyper-sensitive”, meaning they are prone to violence. Rao said 600 mobile squads will also be on duty Saturday.

Over 1,000 people with criminal record had been arrested in the city and Rs.7 million worth of liq