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Karnataka state assembly elections: Polling underway
Voting for the 222-member assembly underway across Karnataka. The polling, which began at 58,546 polling stations , each equipped with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails.
Bengaluru: Voting for the 224-member assembly began across Karnataka at 7 am on Saturday. The polling, which began at 58,546 polling stations, each equipped with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), will conclude at 6 pm.
The election in two constituencies, Jayanagar and R.R. 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 R.R. Nagar, it has been postponed due to fake voter-ID row.
The election in Karnataka is considered crucial for the Congress Party, as it would be looking to prevent the BJP juggernaut from expanding its footprints in the south. Since the 2014 general election, the Congress has been defeated by the BJP in over a dozen states, drastically shrinking its political footprint.
The BJP is making an all-out bid to oust the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka and is looking to come back to power in the state with B.S. Yeddyurappa, its chief ministerial candidate. Interestingly, no incumbent government has been re-elected in Karnatakasince 1985.
The Janata Dal (Secular) is looking to establish itself once again in Karnataka politics and is expected to give a tough fight to both the BJP and the Congress.
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 polling across the 224 assembly constituencies spread across 30 districts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded 223 candidates, while Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) have fielded 222 and 201 seats respectively.
Out of the 224 seats, 36 of them are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), while 15 of them are for Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The majority mark for any party to form the government is 112 in the 225-member assembly. While elections are held for 224 seats, one member is nominated by the state governor from the Anglo-Indian community.
Votes will be counted and results declared on May 15. Of the 2,564 candidates analysed, about 883 (34 per cent) are crorepati candidates.(ANI)