All eyes are on the Election Commission as the poll body on Friday begins scrutinising the nominations for the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls. Over 3,600 candidates have filed a total of 5,102 nominations, election officials said on Thursday night. The process of filing nominations papers began on April 13.
Of the total nominations, 4,710 were filed by 3,327 male candidates and 391 nominations were by 304 female candidates. One nomination has been filed by an "other gender" candidate, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka said in a Thursday night statement. Of these, 707 nominations were filed by candidates who identified themselves with the BJP, 651 Congress, 455 JD(S) and the rest from other smaller parties and independents.
Backup plans
In the heated battle with the ruling BJP and the Congress, both parties have left no stone unturned including fielding candidates from more than one constituency and even nominating 'backup' candidates. In a surprise move on Thursday, just hours before the deadline for nominations, Karnataka Congress MP D.K. Suresh, filed his nomination as an independent candidate from the Kanakapura assembly constituency from where the party has fielded his brother and state party chief D.K. Shivakumar. According to Congress sources, Suresh has filed his papers, as a backup plan in the event of Shivakumar's nomination getting rejected as he has a number of cases pending against him.
The party's move also coincided with the Karnataka High Court dismissing Shivakumar's petition challenging the sanction given by the state government to the CBI for prosecuting him. Shivakumar had challenged the sanction on grounds that this was a politically motivated FIR, and three earlier FIRs have already been filed against him in relation to disproportionate income.
Not just the DKS brothers, former Congress ministers KJ George and Satish Jarkiholi have ensured nomination of one of their family members from their respective seats. While George’s son Rana has filed nomination in Bengaluru’s Sarvagnanagar, Jarkiholi’s daughter has filed papers in Yamakanmardi in Belagavi district, Times of India reported. BJP minister K Gopaliah’s wife Hemalatha has also taken the same route by filing papers from her husband’s seat, Mahalakshmi Layout in Bengaluru.
The last day for the withdrawal of candidature is April 24.
Amit Shah's rally today
Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Bengaluru on Friday on a two-day visit to take stock of the party's preparations for the elections. This is his first visit to the state since the poll dates were announced. He will address a gathering in Devanahalli town, in Bengaluru Rural district. In Devanahalli, Shah will campaign for the party's Pilla Munishamappa, who is pitted against the sitting JD(S) MLA LN Narayanaswamy and Congress candidate KH Muniyappa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also campaign extensively in the state in the coming days. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the PM will campaign in 20 places in the poll-bound state and that his schedule is being finalised.
