Bangalore: The poll process began in Karnataka on Wednesday for the May 5 Assembly polls with the notification being issued, paving the way for candidates to file nominations.
The last day for filing nominations is April 17, with scrutiny of papers the next day and the last day for withdrawal on April 20.
Main political parties -- the BJP (175), Congress (177) and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) (122) -- are yet to announce candidates for all the 224 seats, while there are new entrants such as Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) of former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa (143) and BSR Congress floated by former BJP Minister B Sriramulu (124).
Barring a few exceptions, the BJP, Congress and JDS have largely given tickets to the sitting MLAs. Some 30 BJP MLAs crossed over to other parties, mostly to the KJP.
With hard lobbying by ticket aspirants, the Congress is finding it hard to finalise nominees for the remaining 47 seats, including sons of senior leaders M Mallikarjuna Kharge, N Dharam Singh and daughter of K H Muniyappa.
All eyes are also on BJP on whether the party would give tickets to tainted MLAs -- Katta Subramanya Naidu, Y Sampangi, Krishnaiah Setty. It will also be interesting to see if Bhavani, wife of JDS leader H D Revanna, who is the son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, would make her electoral foray.
The arrival of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley to fine-tune the party`s poll and campaign strategy has boosted the morale of state party leaders, who have been worried about the anti-incumbency factor to some extent.
It was Jaitley, also Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who played a key role in the party`s strategy in the 2008 elections, leading to installation of the party`s first won government in south India.
Top candidates in the elections include Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Deputy Chief Ministers K S Eshwarappa and R Ashoka and former Chief Ministers Yeddyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy (JDS).
Counting of votes will be held on May 8.
While 36 constituencies are reserved for SCs, 15 are reserved for STs in the state.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.