On the eve of polling in Karnataka, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday appealed to voters, especially first-timers, to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

Karnataka has more than 5.3 crore electors, including 11.71 lakh first-time voters, spread across 224 constituencies.

He urged the young and urban voters to take inspiration from elderly voters like 103-year-old Mahadeva Mahalinga Mali and participate actively in the "festival of democracy, defeating the prevalent trend of urban apathy in the state".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CEC Kumar hailed Mali, a resident of Belagavi district, for casting his vote for the Karnataka assembly elections using the home voting facility last week.

There are more than 5.3 crore registered electors in the state with almost equal numbers of men (2.66 crore) and women (2.63 crore).

More than 5.71 lakh persons with disability, 12.15 lakh senior citizens aged 80 years and above and over 16,000 centenarian voters are registered as voters in Karnataka.

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