The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Tuesday, announced the biennial elections to Karnataka legislative council from 20 local authorities for 25 seats, on December 10.
The elections, necessitated due to the retirement of sitting members on January 5, 2022, is being seen as an opportunity by all three political parties— the BJP, Congress and the JD(S)— to increase their numbers in the upper house, ahead of the crucial assembly elections in 2023.
On December 10, the polling will be held between 8am to 4pm, and the counting will take place on December 14. The last date for filing nominations is November 23. The model code of conduct comes into force with immediate effect, stated a press release issued by the EC.
With the tenure of 25 sitting members, including Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary and opposition leader in the legislative council S.R. Patil ending in January, the elections to the 25 seats from rural and urban local bodies will be conducted across 20 local authorities.
The council elections are not fought on party symbols. The candidate from each constituency will be elected by the members of the respective gram panchayats and urban local bodies (town panchayats, municipalities and city corporation), local MLAs and MP in each district. While each constituency covers a district, some districts like Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru have two seats each. This time, the members of taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats will not be participating in voting as the tenure of the sitting members ended last year, and fresh elections have been delayed owing to the ongoing delimitation exercise (of wards and reservation).
The ruling BJP holds 32 seats in the 75-member house, but does not have a majority. This time, the saffron party is hoping to achieve majority as it makes the passage of crucial bills easier, ahead of the assembly elections. The Congress with 29 seats, and JD(S) with 12 are gearing up for a fight to retain their seats as well as thwart the BJP’s efforts in securing a majority in the Upper House.
The saffron party has announced ‘Jana Swaraj Samavesha’ (conventions) from November 19 to 23, in every district to prepare for the polls. The conclaves will be led by four senior leaders – state party chief Malin Kumar Kateel, former chief ministers B.S. Yediyurappa and Jagadish Shettar and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa.
The JD(S) too is holding training workshops for its party workers to maximise its support base in the gram panchayat level.
The Congress, which appears to be energised by its victory in the Hanagal bypoll, has planned ‘Jana Jagruti Abhiyan’ to create awareness among the people about the BJP government’s “failures”. KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar announced a ‘padayatra’ from Mekedatu to Bengaluru in December, demanding the implementation of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across river Cauvery. The padayatra is expected to give the party an opportunity to garner support in the Old Mysuru region, where it is facing stiff competition from the JD(S), which usually crusades for local issues.
Of the 25 sitting members due for retirement, Congress MLC Srinivas Mane has won the Hanagal assembly seat in the recent bypolls, while three JD(S) MLCs, Sandesh Nagaraj, Kantharaj and C.R Manohar, are rumoured to be quitting the party.