The Karnataka Assembly polls will be held on 12 May and the votes will be counted on 15 May, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat announced at a press conference on 27 March. There will be a single phase election for the 224-member assembly, like the last time.
Karnataka Elections: At a Glance
The notification for the polls will be issued on 17 April and the last date for filing of nomination will be 24 April, Rawat said.
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More than 4 crore voters are set to partake in the elections. Rawat said that the ballot will have photos of the candidates attached to it. There will be 52,696 polling stations in operation, including 450 that will be completely manned by women. All electronic voting machines will be linked to Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, he added.
Amit Shah Sounds Poll Bugle
After the polls dates were announced, BJP chief Amit Shah addressed a press conference to accusing the Congress of inefficiency and corruption in Karnataka. Attacking the government over the Lingayat issue, Shah said that it is a poll plank and double speak of the Congress government. Shah is currently on a two-day tour of the central Karnataka region, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi ended his fourth round of visits to the state on Sunday, 25 March.
The polls are being seen as politically crucial for the Congress, as it remains the only big state where it is in power following a string of assembly elections to the saffron party over the last few years.
While incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is the Congress candidate for the top post, the BJP has projected former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa as the party’s candidate. Beside, the Congress and the BJP, the JD(S) led by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda is the third player in the fray.
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