Karnataka Elections 2018 : BJP workers protest against Amit Shah; top developments

Yeddyurappa announced his son will not be contesting from Varuna seat against Siddaramaiah’s son Yathendra in Karnataka elections 2018.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 : The BJP on Monday released the fourth list of seven candidates for the May 12 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly. According to a list finalised by BJP’s Central Election Committee, G R Pravin Patil will contest from Bhadravati while Jaggesh will be party’s candidate from Yeshvanthapura.

The party has fielded Lallesh Reddy from B T M. Layout assembly constituency, H Lilavathi from Ramanagaram, Nandini Gowda Kanakapura, H K Suresh from Belur and J Preetham Gow from Hassan. With this, the BJP has announced 220 candidates leaving names of four candidates.

Earlier today, Yeddyurappa at a rally in Mysuru announced that his son will not be contesting from Varuna seat against Siddaramaiah’s son Yathendra, as projected earlier. Following the announcement, BJP workers created ruckus throwing chairs around. Yeddyurappa himself requested workers to calm down.

Yeddyurappa further expressed confidence on winning the election and said, “I am going to be Chief Minister, it is as certain as the existence of sun and moon. I’m going to spend one day in each constituency to ensure my party’s victory.” Varuna was being seen as the battleground for the sons of Yeddyurappa and Siddaramaiah. The party had earlier released announced 72, 82, and 59 candidates respectively in three lists.

The elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will take place in a single phase on May 12 while counting of votes will begin on May 15.

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Karnataka Elections 2018: When religion and politics make for a heady cocktail

Bhatkal, with a population of 100,000 - 70% of that Muslim thrives on religion; this also happens to be the birthplace of Yasin Bhatkal, a Navayath who has been convicted in several bomb blast cases.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » When Mankal Vaidya, the sitting Congress member of legislative Assembly (MLA) from Honnavar-Bhatkal in Uttara Kanara on the Karnataka coast, was re-named the party candidate for the constituency, the first thing he did was writing to the local socio-political body Majlis-e-Islah-o-Tanzeem for support. Vaidya told local reporters: “I have already written to the body seeking its support in the upcoming election, and I am waiting for their response.”
The support of Majlis-e-Islah-o-Tanzeem plays an important role in the Bhatkal-Honnavar constituency, where Muslim bodies come together under the umbrella organisation and vote according to its instructions.

Also approaching Majlis-e-Islah-o-Tanzeem is Inayathullah Shabandri, who got the body’s support in the previous election and is now contesting on a JD(S) ticket. Bhatkal has a population of only about 100,000, but 70 per cent of the population is Muslim. They belong to the Navayath sect of Sunnis but belonging to the Shafi school of thought (unlike other Sunnis in India who belong to Hanafi school). Navayath is translated as “newcomer” from the original Arabic, so they probably settled on the Karnataka coast, having migrated from Iran and the Arabian coast. Majlis-e-Islah-o-Tanzeem, the official organ of the Navayaths, is regarded as the most powerful Muslim organisation in the entire Uttara Kannada district.

Bhatkal thrives on religion. You could say it is notorious for it. This is the birthplace of Yasin Bhatkal, a Navayath who has been convicted in several bomb blast cases across the country, his friends, two brothers Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal, and Abdul Kadir Sultan Armar, a former member of the banned Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) who left home 10 years ago with his younger brother Saif.

Like Indian Mujahideen founder Yasin Bhatkal before him, Armar, an Islamic State (IS) volunteer, had also been recruiting jihadists both online and through one-on-one meetings. It was after the arrest of Bhatkal (also known as Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa) that intelligence agencies discovered that Armar was engaged in acts of violence overseas. He was part of the Ansar-ut-Tauhid, an outfit that had claimed responsibility for the 2008 murder of US envoy John Granville in Khartoum, Sudan. His mission was to die fighting in Iraq and Syria, and so he headed for the IS and was killed recently in Kobane in northeast Syria along the Turkish border.

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Karnataka Elections 2018 : BJP names 82 candidates in 2nd list; Owaisi backs JD(S)

Will Siddaramaiah be able to maintain his bastion or will Modi magic work again in Karnataka elections? The results will be known on May 15.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced 82 candidates who will be contesting the high stakes, high decibel Karnataka elections. The list includes the elder brother of tainted mining baron G Janardhan Reddy and son of late chief minister S Bangarappa, for the Karnataka Assembly polls.

In the second list released today, the BJP has fielded Reddy’s elder brother G Somashekar Reddy from Bellary City while Kumar Bangarappa will contest from Sorab. G Janardhan Reddy is an accused in illegal mining case. Krishnaiah Setty, an old associate of Yeddyurappa, has been fielded from Malur. The BJP on April 8 had declared its first list of 72 nominees that included its chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, and senior leaders K S Eshwarappa and Jagadish Shettar.

The Congress released it’s list of candidates on Sunday, following which, rebellion erupted in many constituencies as sitting MLAs and strong aspirants vented their ire on being denied a ticket. Supporters of Gayathri Shantegowda staged a protest at Azad Park in Chikmagalur and set tyres on fire as their leader was overlooked. They shouted slogans against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. In Belagavi, supporters of MLA DB Inamdar staged rasta-roko and burnt tyres, even before the list was announced.

The Congress has fielded Siddaramaiah’s son Yatheendra from Varuna, currently held by the chief minister who has shifted to Chamundeshwari. The BJP has not announced its candidate against the chief minister. The BJP was reduced to 40 seats in the last assembly polls in 2013, in which, the Congress had won 122 seats. JD(S) led by Deve Gowda had also won 40 seats. He is contesting from Shikaripura in the upcoming polls.

Karnataka will go to the polls on May 12. The last date for filing the nominations for the 224 constituencies is April 24, while April 27 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Will Siddaramaiah be able to maintain his bastion or will Modi magic work again? The results will be known on May 15.

Check BJP Candidate List → Karnataka Elections 2018

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Siddaramaiah gets ticket, no ‘one-family, one-ticket’ rule

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 8 announced the first list of its 72 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018, to be held on May 12.

Karnataka Elections 2018 : After months of speculation and six days of consultation, the All India Congress Committee on Sunday released the complete list of 218 candidates who will be contesting the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018, scheduled on May 12. Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah will contest from Chamundeshwari. Siddaramaiah’s son Yatheendra has also received a ticket — he will be fighting the election from Varuna constituency.

State party chief G Parameshwara will be in the fray from the Korategere seat. Veteran Congress Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, the state minister for Information Technology, will contest from the Chittapur constituency. The final candidates’ list contains the names of 112 sitting MLAs — only 10 sitting MLAs have not received tickets.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 8 announced its first list of 72 candidates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah discussed the names of the candidates at the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on Sunday. The party is all set to release the second set of candidates’ names in a few days, according to media reports.

Karnataka will go to the polls on May 12. The last date for filing the nominations for the 224 constituencies is April 24, while April 27 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Will Siddaramaiah be able to maintain his bastion or will Modi magic work again? The results will be known on May 15.

Out of the 224 constituencies, 173 are reserved for the general category, 36 for the Scheduled Caste (SC) and 15 for the Scheduled Tribe (ST). Congress party has fielded 15 women, 14 Muslims, three Christians and two Jains in Karnataka poll fray. In 2013 Assembly Elections, there were only 10 women contesting the polls.

Two former BJP MLAs — Anand Singh and businessman B Nagendra — whose names have been mentioned in the illegal iron ore mining racket, have been given tickets in Bellary region.

There are six seats where the Congress has not announced candidates are Sindgi, Nagthan, Melukote, Kittur, Raichur and Shantinagar. In Melukote, the ruling party may support Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha.

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Karnataka Elections 2018 : Challenge for BJP, Congress in battleground Karnataka

In both BJP and Congress camps, aspirant MLAs are miffed that their claims for party nomination in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 is being ignored, perhaps in the interest of ‘winnability’.

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Factionalism may be a rather sophisticated word to describe it. What seems to have broken out in both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress camps should be called full-blows wars. The reason: Aspirant members of legislative Assembly (MLAs) are miffed that their claims for party nomination in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 is being ignored, perhaps in the interest of ‘winnability’.

While the first list of the Congress has not been released, factions are already raising their voices over various names – allegedly lists – floating around on WhatsApp and other groups. In fact, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had to take a satirical jibe – that the phenomenon of fake news had reached Indian elections as well – and deny that any of the names on the alleged lists circulating on social media were accurate.

The BJP, which has already released 72 names is facing its own battle: Ticket seekers who had hoped to find their names on the list are furious and alleging money and caste feelings had played a part in ticket distribution.

Both the outbursts testify to what is common to both parties in the fray – supporters of both think they are being robbed of their chances to being part of the government that will be formed in May. But there are structural reasons for factions emerging in both parties.

It is akin to a merger and acquisition in a company: why are they so often unsuccessful? Because the two companies coming together have different work cultures, different management styles, existing entrenched hierarchies that feel threatened, and different goals and visions. In the same way, political parties need to grow – sometimes by allowing unhappy factions and groups to cross over and join them. The problem arises when the new groups tend to threaten or displace the existing ones.

Take Siddaramiah. He joined the Congress from the JD(S) in the 1990s. In the JD(S) he stood for everything that the Congress opposed – a frank, even disrespectful manner, a caste appeal that the party was not used to, talk of backward class empowerment, and most of all, a horde of supporters and hangers on.

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Karnataka Elections 2018: BJP's Yeddyurappa to fight from Shikaripura; updates

BJP released its first list of 72 candidates who will contest in the Karnataka Assembly elections May 12, to be held on May 12. Yeddyurappa will contest from Shikaripura, not Shimoga.

Karnataka Election 2018 : The BJP on Sunday released its first list of 72 candidates to contest in the Karnataka assembly elections 2018, to be held May 12 for the 224 seats across the southern state. “The central election committee of the party has decided the first 72 names for the ensuing Karnataka legislative Assembly elections,” said the BJP in a statement released by its state unit. The committee met under the party’s national president Amit Shah. Other members of the committe, such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also attended the meet at the party’s head office in New Delhi.

Among the candidates are many of the party’s 48 sitting or outgoing legislators from the state’s northern, central and southern regions, including Bengaluru, which has 28 Assembly constituencies. Prominent nominees are the party’s chief ministerial face B S Yeddyurappa from Shikaripura, K S Eshwarappa from Shivamogga, Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dharwad Central, Basavaraj Bommai from Shiggaon, C.M. Udasi from Hangal, K.V. Hegde from Sirsi and B. Sriramulu from Molakalmuru (reserved).

For Yeddyurappa, the BJP’s CM candidate, this is a do-or-die election as it will be seen as a prelude to the 2019 general elections as far as South India goes. For the Congress, on the other hand, this is an election for survival. Karnataka is one of the few states in India where they still hold power – and the party will be looking to retain the state.

Important dates for Karnataka Assembly Election 2018:

• 17 April: Issue of notification
• 24 April: Last date of nomination
• 25 April: Date of scrutiny
• 27 April: Last date of withdrawal of candidates
• 12 May: Date of Polling
• 15 May: Counting of votes/ Result day

* Date of notification is April 17 and nominations should be filed by April 24. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is April 27. Counting of votes will take place on May 15.

Different regions and historical voting trends:

In Karnataka, the 2008 assembly elections was won by BJP comfortably with 110 seats, whereas the 2013 assembly elections was swept by the Congress by winning 122 seats. The alternating results and trends may suggest that any party is capable of performing well throughout the state on their given day. Karnataka is divided into 30 districts and 4 administrative divisions and this geography of Karnataka is contained within 6 distinct regions. Different factors make these 6 regions conducive for one party whereas unfavourable to others.

• Coastal region: The coastal region of Karnataka is a BJP stronghold
• Old Mysore region – All the three primary political outfits the BJP, Congress and JD(S) have somewhat equal influence in the Old Mysore region of the state.
• Bangalore region – In the Bangalore region the BJP has historically done well
• Mumbai-Karnataka region – The Mumbai-Karnataka region is dominated by the Lingayat community who have their inclination towards the BJP.
• Hyderabad-Karnataka region – The Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state is also dominated by the Lingayats and Reddy brothers, both of which are traditionally BJP supporters. Thus BJP has an advantage here as well, but Mallikarjun Kharge a prominent backward class leader of the Congress and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha belongs to the said region too. This will ensure advantage Congress on many seats which have sizeable votes from the backward community
• Central Karnataka – In Central Karnataka both the BJP and the Congress are expecting to perform well.

Battle for Karnataka: Congress’ biggest challenges lie within, not in BJP

Congress has dubious distinction of snatching defeat from jaws of victory, mainly due to differences within – the one between Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy G Parameshwar is an example.

Karnataka Elections 2018 : If there is one party that can be called an expert at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, it is the Congress. Talking of Karnataka, the story of the state government and party here is actually one of differences between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy (and party chief for a long time) G Parameshwar.

The two leaders have not seen eye to eye for a long time – since much before the party came to power in May 2013. In a way, it was the Congress’ considerable majority that led to the disagreements being made public. Siddaramaiah upstaged Parameshwar to become chief minister – after the latter lost his own seat from the Koratgere Assembly constituency in what appeared to be a Congress wave, and earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first party chief in 50 years to lose his own seat. This was after Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in the district.

Like past state party presidents like S M Krishna and Dharam Singh had gone on to become CMs, Parameshwar thought he could lay a legitimate claim to that office. Siddaramaiah could see the writing on the wall: Parameshwar’s supporters claimed it was Siddaramaiah who engineered the defeat by telling his own Kuruba community voters to vote en bloc for the rival JD(S) candidate rather than party colleague Parameshwar.

The rift between the two deepened when Siddaramaiah turned down the demand for making Parameshwar deputy chief minister or even minister in his Cabinet. The high command had to intervene to make Parameshwar deputy chief minister – though no one seems to know what a deputy chief minister’s powers are.

As Siddaramaiah is considered a newcomer in the ruling Congress, having joined only in 2005 after revolting against JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, many old or senior Congressmen were already cut-up that their claims for the top (CM’s) post were ignored. Conscious that he was swimming in a sea of sharks, Siddaramaiah tried to swiftly consolidate his position: He unilaterally announced the Annabhagya (Re 1 per kg rice scheme to BPL families), which cost Rs 4,300 crore annually to the state exchequer, wrote off loans and additional subsidy to milk producers hours after he took oath as CM. He cut Parameshwar and other party leaders out of the deal, though all these promises were in the party’s 2013 manifesto.

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Battle for Karnataka: What strategy is the Congress working on to beat BJP?

Will Congress’ ‘Ahinda’ formation help it overcome the BJP in the only big state it holds right now?

 

Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 : What is the strategy that the Congress needs to adopt in Karnataka, to retain the only government it has in an important state?

The party has itself indicated the direction in which it wants to go. Caste is going to be central to its calculations. In this context, what did it do right in 2013 that propelled it to power?

It relied on the Ahinda formation, the coalition of Dalits, backward castes, and minorities (Alpa Sankhyata, Hindulida, and Dalit, hence Ahinda). Political analysts have often written about Dalit-backed or socialist political parties forming the Ahinda combination as an election strategy.

Consider the data below. It indicates (in the absence of a caste census which was commissioned by the state government but an authoritative version is yet to come out), how the party deployed its caste appeal. Despite the much-vaunted backward class credentials of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is from the shepherd caste, tiny but influential and not populous enough to threaten the other castes, the Congress fielded 52 candidates but could win only 28. It is the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes which came to its rescue, with a strike rate of over 60 per cent between the two of them.

The Vokkaligas did not vote for the Congress and the Muslims had their doubts about them.

Both Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah and chief minister designate BS Yeddyurappa have been wooing Dalits with a passion. Yeddyurappa’s constant refrain is that while the Congress government has allocated money for the development of scheduled castes, (allocations amount to around Rs 60,000 crore) much of the money has been returned unutilized. Yeddyurappa has been spending time with Dalits in social gatherings – dining with them, participating in functions and feting them.

The Dalit bloc in Karnataka has 101 castes and they are categorised into five sections-touchables or Chalavadis (identified as right hand in Kannada to indicate they are touchables), untouchables or Madigas (who are called left hand to indicate they are untouchables), Bovis, Lambanis and 97 microscopic minorities. Though there is no proper study on the Dalit voting pattern, Chalavadis had drifted towards the Congress when Indira Gandhi was leading the party. The Madigas moved to the BJP in early 2000 along with Ramakrishna Hegde who made a special effort to identify politically with them.

Amit Shah fears more corruption if Congress re-elected in Karnataka

The Karnataka government is nothing but the ‘ATM’ of corruption for the Congress: Amit Shah.

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Equating the Congress with corruption, BJP National President Amit Shah on Saturday cautioned the Karnataka voters against re-electing the ruling party on May 12 as it would result in more graft in the southern state.

“If the same party (Congress) is re-elected and forms the government, then corruption will turn into a tsunami wave,” Shah told the media here on the second day of his visit to the state’s old Mysuru region.

Claiming that the people wanted to oust the corrupt Congress from power, the party chief said the ruling party had turned the state government into an ‘ATM’ of corruption for itself.

“The Karnataka government is nothing but the ‘ATM’ of corruption for the Congress,” Shah said.

Noting that 3,500 farmers had allegedly committed suicide across the state over the last four years due to agrarian crisis, Shah it was unfortunate Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had termed the death of so many farmers as a conspiracy.

“It’s a pathetic and insensitive statement by the Chief Minister,” he said.

Blaming the Congress for ignoring the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Shah regretted that the grand old party had prevented the Modi government from giving constitutional status to the OBCs by blocking an amendment bill in the Rajya Sabha.

“Siddaramaiah says he is an OBC leader and that his government was doing a lot for the OBCs. If it were so, why did he fail to convince his party on not stalling the constitutional amendment,” the BJP leader said.

Appealing to the people to vote for the BJP in the ensuing assembly election, Shah said the state would development rapidly under its chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre.

“If the people in the state are looking for change, it’s only the BJP under Yeddyurappa’s leadership is capable of providing it,” claimed Shah, adding the regional party Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) would not be in a position to form the next government in the state.

Vote count is on May 15 after single-phase polling on May 12.

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Karnataka Polls Date Leak: Election Commission examines responses

Following the meeting, the ECI stated that further inquiry would be conducted into the matter and necessary action would be taken.

Karnataka Elections Date Leak : Following the alleged data leak regarding the schedule of the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls, an Officers’ Committee constituted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) examined responses submitted by the parties involved.

Following the meeting, the ECI stated that further inquiry would be conducted into the matter and necessary action would be taken.

For the unversed, controversy erupted on Tuesday after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell head Amit Malviya took to Twitter to reveal the polling date as May 12 and counting as May 18, ahead of the ECI’s official announcement.

However, Malviya deleted the tweet, post social media uproar.

Following this, the BJP leader in his response to the election-governing body, claimed that the tweet was based on a flash taken out by a leading TV channel, thereby downplaying the possibility of an information leak.

“I wish to reiterate that I firmly believe in the exclusive constitutional domain of the Election Commission to conduct free and fair elections in the country, and also in the confidentiality and secrecy mandated upon it in process of doing so. It is my kind submission that my tweet was in no way intended to infringe upon the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission,” Malviya clarified.

Meanwhile, a local media in Karnataka also announced similar dates, following updates from the aforementioned leading channel, as per their clarification.

However, the national TV channel clarified that no information leak had taken place.

On a related note, the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will go to polls on May 12, and counting of votes will be held on May 15.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections on May 12 and Results on May 15

The Election Commission is set to announce dates and the entire polling schedule of Karnataka Assembly Elections for the 224-member Karnataka assembly today.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 will be held on May 12 and the result will be declared on May 15, 2018, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. Karnataka elections will be held in a single phase. Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat addressed the media in New Delhi and said that the model code of conduct has come into effect immediately.

The elections are being held to choose the 224 members of the Karnataka Assembly whose tenure ends in May 2018. The polls are being seen politically crucial for the ruling Congress, as well as the BJP, as Karnataka is the only big state where the former is in power after losing a string of Assembly elections to the saffron party in the past few years. The BJP is making a concerted bid to unseat the Congress. Besides, the Congress and the BJP, another player in the fray is former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s JD(S).

Currently, the Congress party holds a simple majority of 123 seats in the 224 constituencies’ strong Karnataka legislative assembly. The BJP holds 44 and the JD(s) has 40 seats respectively. BJP President Amit Shah on Monday asserted there was a “tsunami” in favour of his party which will not only defeat the ruling Congress but also ‘uproot’ it in the coming assembly polls in Karnataka.

“Since 2014 see the election records,” he added citing BJP’s winning streak since coming to power at the centre.

Highlights: Important dates for Karnataka Assembly Election 2018

• 17 April: Issue of notification 24 April: Last date of nomination 25 April: Date of scrutiny
• 27 April: Last date of withdrawal of candidates 12 May: Date of Polling 15 May: Counting of votes/ Result day

→ Date of notification is April 17 and nominations should be filed by April 24. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is April 27. Counting of votes will take place on May 15.

→ It will be investigated. Be assured that actions legally and administratively befitting will be taken: Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on the question of how BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya had put dates of Karnataka elections on social media.

→ Certain things may have leaked for which Election Commission will take appropriate action: Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on the question how BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya had put dates of Karnataka elections on social media.

→ Voting in Karnataka to be held on 12 May, counting on 15 May, announces Election Commission.

→ Last date of nomination 24th April, 2018

→ Karnataka Elections Date ←

Karnataka Elections 2018: Fresh Faces To Lead Congress

At least 30 MLAs in the Congress may not get the tickets this year. Fresh faces could be given party tickets and roped into the party.

Karnataka Assembly Polls 2018 : This April-May period is set to witness the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in 224 constituencies to elect their respective members. Karnataka Assembly tenure ends in May 2018.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is moving ahead with its Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivarthana rally, which went on for seventy five days across the entire state lead by the state president, Y.S Yeddyurappa. The rally came to its end on February 8, 2018, covering all the constituents in Karnataka. The core aim of the BJP under the guidance of the Prime Minister is to liberate Karnataka from the dynasty rule of the inefficient Congress.

The Prime Minister wants to put a permanent end to corruption and dirty politics. He said that the entire world is busy with ease of doing business, while the Congress is busy with ease of doing murders.” “Anyone who criticizes the government will pay with death.” This implies that the BJP will be amassing votes thriving on the brand image of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi by having him as the mascot of their elections campaign. The chief minister seems to be shrewd in engaging the Prime Minister.

As the elections in Karnataka are taking its breath taking twists, there were two polls conducted by the Congress in Karnataka, having the polls ahead. The results were very shocking. At least 30 MLAs in the Congress may not get the tickets this year. There are bleak chances of their winning. The High-command seriously reviews this issue and they would take a final call on the party ticket to be given or not. There is a high possibility that these sitting MLAs may not get the ticket. Fresh faces could be given party tickets and roped into the party.

The state and the center Congress are discussing this matter. Mr. Rahul Gandhi is of the opinion that Karnataka should take Fresh faces. The CM Mr. Siddaramaiah says that winning or not winning is just a chance. Considering a fresh face may be a risk. The Congress high command will take a final decision on this issue on this March 28 and 29. As a preliminary, Mr. Madhu Sudhan Misry analyzed the constituencies where the Congress lost in the past.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: JDS is “B team” of BJP, says Rahul Gandhi

The congress president claimed that his party believes in taking together the poor, dalits, advasis, backward communities and downtrodden.

Karnataka Assembly Polls 2018 : Addressing a rally here in the Lok Sabha constituency of former prime minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda, he said “they (JDS) are supporting BJP from behind. They feel that people of Karnataka will not come to know and they can’t understand.”

Gandhi was on his third round of election campaign in poll bound Karnataka.

The Congress president said “In Karnataka only one party is going to win, its name is Congress party. ”

“Let RSS’ A team, B team, C team, D team, E team join hands, it makes no difference, Congress is going to win,” he added.

Assembly elections 2018 are expected to be held in Karnataka in April/May.

JDS and BJP had earlier joined hands to form a coalition government in Karnataka in 2006, with Deve Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister and current state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa as his deputy.

The congress president claimed that his party believes in taking together the poor, dalits, advasis, backward.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today termed Janata Dal (Secular) as “B team” of BJP and said his party would win the coming Karnataka assembly polls 2018.

“JDS people, they have only one work do, (they are) BJP’s B team. They have decided, let whatever happens, let whatever needs to be done…make BJP win,” Gandhi said.

The congress president claimed that his party believes in taking together the poor, dalits, advasis, backward communities and downtrodden.

“On the other side, there are other parties that want to give away entire money of Karnataka to the rich,” he said.

He also asked the people to choose between the party that has given transparent government in Karnataka for the last five years and parties that are involved in corruption.

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Karnataka Assembly Election 2018: Dates, Results and Opinion Polls

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 is one of the most keenly awaited electoral battles of 2018.

Karnataka Assembly Polls 2018 : In 2018, the Karnataka electoral battle becomes that much more interesting as Karnataka is one of the last two big states along with Punjab that is held by the Congress. Karnataka is also the only Southern state of India that has been ruled by the BJP in the past. The Karnataka state elections 2018 is being fought on the backdrop of recent by-poll election losses for the BJP which were held for both state assembly seats and Lok Sabha seats in the states of Rajasthan, MP, UP and Bihar.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2013:

• From 2008 – 2013 Karnataka was ruled by the BJP government after it came to power under the leadership of B. S. Yeddyurappa by winning 110 seats in 2008 assembly elections and forming the government with the help of few independent MLAs. But later in 2011 due to corruption charges and internal revolts, B. S. Yeddyurappa had to resign from the CM’s post. Later he quit BJP and started his own party named Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) and fought against the BJP in the 2013 assemble elections. The Karnataka legislative assembly election of 2013 was held on 5th May 2013 with voting taking place in 50,446 polling stations. The state assembly elections in 2013 saw a healthy voter turnout of 70.23% with 4.18 crore voters exercising their right to vote. The results were declared on 8th May 2013 in which the Indian National Congress (INC) under the leadership of Siddaramaiah was able to secure simple majority of 122 seats with 36.6% vote share, 9 more than the majority mark of 113 in the 224 member house.

Karnataka Elections Dates & Voting Result:

• The current tenure of Karnataka assembly will end on 28th May 2018 and as per rules the assembly election will have to be held and new house will have to be constituted before the said date. It is expected that the Election Commission of India (ECI) will visit Karnataka in the first week of April 2018 and declare the official poll dates somewhere around 15th April 2018 after various board and other examinations are completed. Voting for the 224 assembly seats is expected to be held in early May 2018 with 2nd May being stated as the likely date. The polling is expected to be completed in a single phase just like in 2013.

  Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 Opinion Polls:

• All the three major political parties and others in the race have launched their election campaign and last ditch political maneuvering is being played out by all players in the state of Karnataka as we speak. Most opinion polls held by private players in early January 2018 had predicted a hung assembly with a nail biting contest between all the three major players; Indian National Congress under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of B. S. Yeddyurappa and Janata Dal (Secular) under the leadership of H. D. Kumaraswamy.

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Karnataka Assembly election 2018: Why it is important for BJP and Congress

Keeping all these political issues and twists and turns in Karnataka State, The entire nation and Karnataka state is eagerly waiting for the election and who will win.

Karnataka Assembly Polls 2018 : This April-May will evidence the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in 224 constituencies to elect their respective members. Karnataka Assembly tenure ends in May 2018. The upcoming election is scheduled for April-May 2018.

The Lotus Strategy: Criticizing Invites Death

The official campaign of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began on November 2, 2017. They launched Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivarthana rally, which was for 75 days across the entire state lead by the state president, Y.S Yeddyurappa. The rally was completed on February 8, 2018, covering all the constituents in Karnataka covering all the constituencies and ended with a note addressed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister in his speech said that the entire world is busy with ease of doing business, while the Congress is busy with ease of doing murders.” “Anyone who criticizes the government will pay with death.”

Mr. Modi also stated that he wants to free Karnataka from the dynasty rule of the inefficient Congress. This would also mean putting an end to corruption and dirty politics.

A fourteen-day “Protect Bengaluru” was conducted by BJP party. According to this party, they were reviving and rebuilding the city from the gross negligence of the Congress party. The BJP and Janatadal parties were campaigning against the Congress pointing out the flaws and shortcomings under Siddaramaiah. This act has compelled Congress to emphasize on the achievements made to counter both the parties. The BJP has given enough indications that this time the election campaign will be Modi-centric and less of B.S.Yeddurappa. BJP prefers to seek votes in the name of Mr. Modi by having him as the face of the elections. The chief minister seems to be shrewd in engaging the Prime Minister.

The Congress Way: Being More Aggressive

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) took up an act of setting up a booth level committee at 54,261 locations. They will spread the information on the various programs undertaken by the ruling Indian National Congress. This was an extensive outreach program, which was held just before the elections. The ruling congress has taken aggressive steps to reach to grass root level to halt the impression created by BJP. This micro-level reach by the Congress had created a positive impact on the people. Congress was on losing end for the past few elections.

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