Karnataka election on May 12, Amit Malviya under EC lens, EC to use VVPATs
Karnataka Assembly Elections will be held on May 12 and the result will be declared on May 15, 2018, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. Karnataka elections will be held in a single phase. Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat said that the model code of conduct has come into effect in the poll-bound state The elections are being held to choose the 224 members of the Karnataka Assembly whose tenure ends in May 2018. The polls are being seen politically crucial for the ruling Congress, as well as the BJP, as Karnataka is the only big state where the former is in power after losing a string of Assembly elections to the saffron party in the past few years. The BJP is making a concerted bid to unseat the Congress. Besides, the Congress and the BJP, another player in the fray is former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's JD(S).
What you must know about Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 1) Important dates for Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 17 April: Issue of notification 24 April: Last date of nomination 25 April: Date of scrutiny 27 April: Last date of withdrawal of candidates 12 May: Date of Polling 15 May: Counting of votes/ Result day * Date of notification is April 17 and nominations should be filed by April 24. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is April 27. Counting of votes will take place on May 15. 2) BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya tweets Karnataka poll dates before EC announcement: BJP's national Information and Technology cell head Amit Malviya on Tuesday tweeted about the dates of the Karnataka Assembly election before the Election Commission announced it through a press conference. Malviya seems to have deleted the tweet now, journalists questioned Malviya on how he got to know about the Karnataka poll dates before the Election Commission announced them. 3) Highlights of Election Commission's press conference No ceiling on expenditure for political parties, says Election Commission: CEC Rawat said per candidate has been allotted Rs 28 lakh for expenditure. "I urge my media friends to ensure that any wrongdoings or aberrations are highlighted," Rawat said. 4) Yogi Adityanath attends BJP rally in Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a rally in Mangaluru, Karnataka. After the BJP's win in the assembly polls in the northeastern states, Adityanath had said that the 'lotus' will now bloom in Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha, thanks to the development-oriented policies of the prime minister and his good governance, and the guidance of the party chief Amit Shah. 5) Siddaramaiah govt has announced minority status to the Lingayat community: The Karnataka government recently accorded a minority status to the Lingayat community. This came days after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led government accepted the suggestions of the Nagamohan Das committee to grant a separate religion status to the Lingayats. 6) Karnataka Assembly election significance: The Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 are important the Congress party, currently in power in the state, as this is the last big state where it is still in power after losing a string of Assembly elections to the BJP in the past few years. It is also important for the BJP, which will be trying to unseat the Congress and push its call for Çongress-mukt Bharat'. 7) Seven former JDS MLAs join Congress in Karnataka: In a blow to JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, seven party rebel former MLAs on Sunday joined the ruling Congress in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi.
8) Different regions and historical voting trends: In Karnataka, the 2008 assembly elections was won by BJP comfortably with 110 seats, whereas the 2013 assembly elections was swept by the Congress by winning 122 seats. The alternating results and trends may suggest that any party is capable of performing well throughout the state on their given day. Karnataka is divided into 30 districts and 4 administrative divisions and this geography of Karnataka is contained within 6 distinct regions. 9) Amit Shah sees "BJP tsunami" coming in Karnataka: Amit Shah asserted there was a "tsunami" in favour of his party which will not only defeat the ruling Congress but also 'uproot' it in the coming assembly polls in Karnataka.He also lashed out at the Siddaramaiah government on multiple fronts, saying it had distanced itself from the people. 10) 60 lakh new voters enrolled as new voters across Karnataka in FebruaryIn February, chief electoral officer had announced that nearly 60 lakh people have enrolled as new voters across Karnataka ahead of the 15th Assembly elections, due in early May.
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