BJP faces acid test in Karnataka on May 5

Elections to the Karnataka legislative assembly will be held on May 5. The Election Commission has decided to go in for a single-phase polling to curb electoral malpractices and expenditure. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 8.

From now, political parties will also need to think before they speak — the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect.

Announcing the poll schedule for the 224-member legislative assembly, chief election commissioner VS Sampath said the poll notification would be issued on April 10 when candidates can start filing nominations. The last date for filing nominations is April 17 and after scrutiny the next day, the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is April 20. The tenure of the current assembly expires on June 3. The last assembly polls were held in three phases.

The state is currently ruled by the BJP which is struggling ever since former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa left the party and floated his own outfit.

The polls will be held from 8am to 5pm and electronic voting machines will be used. There are a total of 4.18 crore voters in Karnataka and 50,446 polling stations will be set up.
While 36 constituencies are reserved for SCs, 15 are reserved for STs in the state.

Sampath said an adequate number of observers would be deployed to check general malpractices and use of money power during the elections. There will also be a stringent monitoring of paid news.

The election commission is taking elaborate measures to ensure free and fair elections. It said all significant election-related activity will be videographed and efforts will be made to distribute voter slips at the doorstep of every voter 3-4 days in advance.

@DNA