Karnataka assembly election to be held on May 12

The assembly election for the Indian state of Karnataka is set to take place on May 12, as per the declaration made by the Election Commission of India.

As per the EC, there are nearly 4.96 crore eligible voters in the state of Karnataka, which is presently ruled by the Congress Party.

According to the EC’s statement, the counting session of the assembly election will take place on May 15 and the last date for the process of filing the nomination will be April 24.

The BJP IT cell’s move to announce the election dates before the official declaration of the EC has created suspicion among the voters and politicians belonging to the anti-BJP faction, invited serious criticism, and marred the credibility of the Election Commission to a small extent.

The EC, accepting the demand of the Congress and other anti-BJP parties, has declared that they would conduct investigation into the matter.

There are nearly two hundred and twenty five assembly seats in Karnataka. The Lingayat and Vokkalinga castes play a crucial role in deciding the result of the majority of the constituencies of the state.

The Vokkalinga is the prime supporter of at least two of the three prominent parties in the state: the Congress Party and JD(S). Meanwhile, other strong party, the saffron party, is largely backed by the Lingayat.

For last few months, the Congress Party has been trying to attain the support of the Lingayat community by offering the special religious status (the longstanding demand towards which the BJP is not in a favourable attitude).

If the Congress either succeeds in winning the backing of the Lingayat or manages to split the community’s voters in the special religious status issue, the grand old party, with the support of the Vokkalinga, backward community members and minority community members, will win the election. If not, the chances are favourable for the saffron regime in the elections, more than the JD(S).

Vignesh. S. G

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