The high voltage Karnataka election campaign is set to end today. Politicians across party lines will make that one last attempt to woo voters. Ahead of the elections on May 12, political parties are holding a series of rallies generate as much support as possible. Karnataka’s Chief Ministerial candidate from BJP B.S. Yeddyurappa and Amit Shah are part of the roadshow in Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Badami constituency.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too is campaigning on the last day. So is Rahul Gandhi, the Congress Chief. The regional parties too are going all out to impress the voters on the final day. The campaign for Karnataka elections have been rather whirlwind. The BJP as well as Congress have gone all out trying to convince the voters. Needless to mention, a win in the Karnataka elections can surely give parties an edge ahead of the 2019 general election.
More than 2650 candidates are contesting in the Karnataka elections. Of these 219 are women candidates. Though still a paltry percentage of the overall candidates contesting, it is higher than the 170 who contested elections in 2013. About 1,155 independent candidates are also contesting the state polls this year compared to 1,223 in 2013. Elections will be held in 223 constituencies of the total 224 and the results will be declared on May 15.Election in one constituency was delayed after the death of B.N. Vijay Kumar, the Jayanagar BJP candidate.
The real question at this stage is will the BJP be able to maintain its recent winning spree in the Karnataka elections too. The ruling party has been victorious in 22 of the 29 states in India. As a result, this can create a meaningful impact ahead of the general elections due next year. Most pre-poll surveys however indicate a subtle plateauing of the saffron fever. The Congress is see inching ahead in Karnataka but the BJP is a very close second.
But the final verdict will be on May 15 when the poll counting will commence and the results will be announced.
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