Karnataka polls: This will be my last election, says Siddaramaiah

Karnataka polls: This will be my last election, says Siddaramaiah With the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 days away, BJP and Congress are running fierce campaigns. Catch today's latest Karnataka election campaign updates here

As the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 draws closer, top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress leaders are holding back-to-back rallies in the state to boost their respective parties' chances of securing a win in the crucial election. The Karnataka Election Watch and Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday analysed affidavits of Karnataka polls candidates, filed with the Election Commission (EC). Of the

2,654 candidates in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, at least 883 are crorepatis and 645 have criminal cases against them, said the two watchdogs.

"The average assets of the 883 (35 per cent) crorepati candidates are worth Rs 75.4 million.

Of the 645 contestants, 254 (10 per cent) face serious criminal cases and 391 (15 per cent) face criminal cases," revealed the study. Affidavits of all the contesting 223 BJP candidates were analysed. Two hundred and eight (93 per cent) of the 223 candidates in fray from the BJP have declared assets worth over Rs 10 million. Of the 2,654 candidates in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, at least 883 are crorepatis and 645 have criminal cases against them - the highest number among all the parties contesting.

A total of 207 (94 per cent) of the 220 candidates from the ruling Congress, 154 (77 per cent) of the 199 candidates from Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and 199 (18 per cent) of the 1,090 Independents have declared assets more than Rs 10 million. The BJP candidates were found to be with the highest number of criminal cases against them, with 83 (37 per cent) of the 223 candidates in fray having criminal cases against them and 58 others (26 per cent) having serious criminal cases against them including murder.

Of the 220 candidates analysed from the ruling Congress, a total of 59 (27 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, while 32 (15 per cent) have serious criminal cases against them. Of the 199 JD-S candidates analysed by the study, 41 (21 per cent) have criminal cases, and 29 (15 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases in their poll affidavits. Of the total 1,090 Independents analysed, 108 (10 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves, and 70 (6 per cent) are accused of serious criminal http://charges.in Chitradurga, Raichur, Jamakhandi, and Hubli.

Karnataka will go to the polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 224-member Assembly. The results will be out on May 15.

Here are the top 10 developments in the Karnataka Election 2018