Admitting they were not serious about elections in the past as they were too pre-occupied with their career pursuits, many techies said they were determined to vote this time so that their votes could help in forming a stable government or at least prevent a repeat of the fractured verdict in the 2004 election.

"Who did I vote for? It is confidential. I have voted for one of them (candidates). I made a conscious decision to vote for a party that I hope will do something to clear the mess Bangalore has become due to instability, poor governance and inordinate delays in executing infrastructure projects," Samir Khan, 28, said.

Sonali Kiran, 22, who is voting for the first time in the state assembly election after moving from Pune to join an IT firm in the city, said she voted for "(S.M.) Krishna's" party, that is the Congress, because she learnt that the former IT savvy chief minister did a lot for the tech industry and the city during his tenure five years ago.