New Delhi: Elections to the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on 10 May, and results counted on 13 May, the Election Commission of India announced Wednesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2019, following the collapse of the coalition government of the Congress and the JD(S) – formed after the 2018 state polls.
Several rebel MLAs from the Congress-JD(S) alliance then switched camp to BJP, and won by-elections from the party platform.
The BJP at present has nearly 120 MLAs in the Assembly, while the Congress has 70-odd and the JD(S) 28.
During its four-year tenure, the BJP changed chief ministers once – B.S. Yediyurappa resigned in July 2021 and was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai.
The BJP’s reign has been beset with corruption charges, the latest being that of bribery against its Channagiri legislator Madal Virupakshappa, who was arrested earlier this week.
His son Prashanth, an administrative services officer, was arrested by the state Lokayukta on 3 March while accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a private contractor. It is alleged Prashanth was receiving the bribe on behalf of his father.
The Congress released its first list of 124 candidates this week, with former chief minister Siddaramaiah contesting this time from Varuna, Mysuru. The 75-year-old is currently an MLA from Badami.
Other significant candidates on that list are state unit chief D.K. Shivakumar, former Union minister and seven-time MP K.H. Muniyappa, and H. Nagesh, a former minister in B.S. Yediyurappa’s cabinet, who joined the Congress in January.
There is also Shyamnur Shivashankarappa from Davangere south, a 91-year-old Lingayat leader whose support the party seeks to consolidate Lingayat voters.
On the other hand, the JD-S has released a list of 93 candidates.
The BJP will begin the process of choosing candidates in the coming days, Chief Minister Bommai said Monday. He said the BJP’s poll manifesto will be “praja pranalike” (a people’s manifesto).
The BJP has set a target of winning at least 150 of the total 224 seats.
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Source: The Print
