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After campaigning in the Karnataka assembly elections, now it is the turn of the voters to decide. Voting will start on 224 seats in a single phase today i.e. Wednesday from 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Results will come on 13 May. Complete preparations have been made regarding the voting. About 4 lakh polling personnel have been put on duty. A total of 2615 candidates are in the fray. The names of veteran candidates like Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from BJP, Congress state president DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah and JDS chief HD Kumaraswamy are included in the election.
There are more than 5.3 crore voters in the state, out of which 11.71 lakh voters will vote for the first time. Voting will be held simultaneously on all the 224 assembly seats in the state. There are 2.66 crore males and 2.63 crore females in the state. While there are more than 5.71 lakh disabled voters. 12.15 lakh senior citizens of the age of 80 years and above will cast their vote. More than 16,000 voters are above 100 years of age. This time the Election Commission has allowed senior citizens above 80 years of age and differently-abled voters to vote from home. They will be given ballot papers to vote secretly from their homes.
The only state in the south where BJP has power
Presently BJP is in power in Karnataka. At the same time, once again he has given all his strength to return to power. According to media reports, the role of Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters will be important in this election. In this, Lingayats constitute 17 percent of the population and Vokkaligas 11 percent. The election is also important for the BJP because Karnataka is the only state in the South where the BJP is in power.
Between whom is the contest in Karnataka?
Riding on the popularity wave of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to retain power in the state. On the other hand, the Congress is hoping to get the mandate with the help of anti-incumbency wave and its election promises. On the other hand, the third largest party of the state Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) is expected to become the kingmaker like in the last election.
