Karnataka assembly election 2023: The Election Commission of India on Wednesday announced the date for the Karnataka Assembly Elections. According to the schedule released by the poll panel, the polls in Karnataka will be held in a single phase on May 10, and the votes counted on May 13, setting the stage for a key BJP versus Congress electoral fight ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha showdown.
The Janata Dal (Secular) is the third major party in the state, which has a 224-member assembly. The BJP currently has 119 seats, followed by the Congress with 75. The JD (S) has 28 MLAs, while two seats are vacant.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the notification for the elections will be issued on April 13 and the last date for filing nomination papers will be April 20. Kumar said the nomination papers will be scrutinised on April 21 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 24.
He said the elections have been scheduled on a Wednesday, and not on a Monday or Friday, to encourage greater participation of voters. “People can take a day off and have a long weekend. But by holding the poll on Wednesday, the possibility has been reduced,” he said, adding that the move is part of the EC’s effort to ensure greater participation and curb voters’ apathy in going to the polling stations.
The incumbent chief minister of Karnataka Basavraj Bommai is one of the most popular political faces in the state. Bommai kick started his career with Janata Dal and was earlier the minister of home affairs, co-operation, law and justice parliamentary affairs and legislatures. Basavaraj Bommai comes from a political background as he’s the son of former Chief Minister of Karnataka, S. R. Bommai. A graduate in Mechanical Engineering, he started his political journey with Janta Dal and represented Dharwad constituency twice in Karnataka Vidhan Soudha as a Janta Dal MLA and also worked as the Parliament Secretary to Chief Minister.
B.S Yedyurappa is the former and 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka, who held the office from 2019 to 2021. Born in Bookanakere in Mandya district on February 27, 1943 into a Lingayat family, Yediyurappa has been an RSS man from the beginning. He rose from the grassroots level to become a four-time chief minister of Karnataka. He was instrumental in building the Jan Sangh initially and then the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah contested on Bharatia Lok Dal Party and entered the 7th Karnataka Legislative Assembly as its Member during 1983 from Chamundeshwari Assembly Constituency in Mysore District. Later, he joined the ruling Janata Party. He is the First President of Kannada Watchdog Committee (Kannada Kavalu Samiti) set up to supervise the implementation of Kannada as Official Language. He strived for the enrichment of Kannada language and culture of the State. Later, he became Minister of State for Sericulture and was instrumental in the alround development of Sericulture Department and Silk Industry in the State.
Shivakumar’s phenomenal rise in politics, his reputation as the Congress’s go-to man and his arrest by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, painted him as a daring yet emotional leader. Shivakumar, a youth Congress leader who took on JD(S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda in 1985 assembly elections and lost as a debutante, now has a stranglehold over his constituency Kanakapura. He became a first-time minister in the S. Bangarappa cabinet in 1991 and served in S.M. Krishna, Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy cabinets, handling major portfolios like urban development, energy, water resources and medical education. Shivakumar, who is one of the richest MLAs in the state, with declared assets of Rs 840 crore.
Chikkamagaravalli Thimme Gowda Ravi fondly known as CT Ravi is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janta Party who hails from Chikamagalur district of Karnataka. He is a disciple of RSS and a four-time legislator from Chiikamagaluru assembly seat of Karnataka and more often he is known for his candid statements advocating Hindutwa. Currently he serves as the National General Secretary of the BJP.
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