Voting in a high-stakes election Karnataka assembly elections began early on Wednesday in a state where the ruling BJP hopes to write history by retaining its southern stronghold and a feisty Congress hopes to make a return ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Polling for 224 seats has underway, with the ruling BJP, the Congress, and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) viewed as the leading contenders. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress veterans Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, among others, will have their electoral fates sealed during the day-long process. On May 13, the polled votes will be counted.
The voting, which began at 7 a.m. amid strict security, will continue until 6 p.m. A total of 5,31,33,054 electors are eligible to vote in the state’s 58,545 polling places, where 2,615 candidates are running. Among the electors, 2,67,28,053 are male, 2,64,00,074 female and 4,927 “others”, while among the candidates 2,430 are male, 184 female and one from third gender.
For the successful conduct of the polls, elaborate security arrangements have been prepared throughout the state, and forces from surrounding states have also been deployed. On election day, 84,119 State Police Officers and 58,500 CAPF police from 650 CoYs (companies) will be on duty to maintain law and order and provide security around the state. As force multipliers, ‘Critical Polling Stations’ are covered by one or more of the measures such as Micro Observers, Webcasting, and CCTVs.
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