Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Mar 27: The much-awaited Karnataka Assembly elections were announced by Chief Election Commissioner of India Om Prakash Rawat on Tuesday March 27 in New Delhi.
The polling for the single-phase election will be held on May 12 and the counting will be on May 15.
Rawat said that along with the EVMs, VVPATs will also be used in all polling stations. Photographs of the candidates will also be attached to the banners of political party symbols on the EVMs.
The model code of conduct comes into effect immediately and will also be applicable to the central government, he said.
There are a total of 4.96 crore voters in the state.
The date of notification is April 17 and the last date to file nominations is April 24. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 25 and the last day for withdrawal is April 27.
The Election Commissioner said that adequate central security force will be deployed in the state to keep vigil on any untoward incident in Karnataka, and assured that strict action would be taken against any misuse of social media or other tools to influence the outcome of the elctions.
Meanwhile, BJP's Amit Malaviya tweeted that the counting would be held on May 18. When some on Twitter asked him how he knew the date even before the Chief Election Commisioner announced it, he said he was quoting Times Now. He later deleted the tweet. When this was brought to the attention of the Election Commissioner during the press meet, he was furious and promised to take appropriate action on the matter. "It will be investigated. Be assured that actions legally and administratively befitting will be taken," he said.
The high-pitched battle for power in the southern state has already witnessed all sorts of allegations being hurled by the top parties at each other. National leaders of both Congress and BJP have toured the state with their own versions of 'yatras' multiple times. Other than the national parties, a number of regional parties have also mushroomed that may affect the traditional vote shares of the parties to some extent. The Lingayat community, which has been traditionally with the BJP, has expressed solidarity with the Congress after the state government granted them separate religion status, while the Veerashaivas, angered by the decision, have vowed to defeat the ruling Congress.
Both the BJP and the Congress have a lot at stake in this election. While the BJP, which floundered when it was in power in the state before the Congress, is desperate to make another attempt at making inroads into the southern states and further its goal of 'Congress-mukt Bharat', the Congress has everything to lose if it does not retain power. Karnataka is one of the few states where Congress is still in power, and in fact, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka is the strongest of Congress bastions. All surveys, including BJP's own have pointed at Congress' win. While Siddaramaiah may be expected to continue in the CM's chair if the Congress comes to power again, the BJP has projected former chief minister and current BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa as the CM candidate.
The tenure of the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly expires on May 28 and before that, the new house has to be constituted. The results of this election would give a fair picture of the things to come in the 2019 general elections.