Karnataka Election 2023 News: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visits Anjaneya Temple with his son and daughter, sees Bengaluru Municipal Commissioner Thushar Giri Nath, top BJP leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and BS Yediyurappa at polling booths – as Karnataka votes amid tight security It’s an action packed morning.
The polling, which began at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm after which pollsters like Axis My India, CVoter, Lokniti-CSDS and Today’s Chanakya will release their exit poll results.
News18.com will publish the exit poll results, while its television news channel CNN News18 will broadcast the predictions. The votes cast will be counted on May 13.
Click to view photos | Celebrities, politicians queue up to cast their votes
top contender
Polling is being held for 224 seats in what is being seen primarily as a triangular contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular). The electoral fate of top leaders—Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress veterans Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, among others—will be sealed during the day-long exercise.
Apart from Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy, Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central) is the other former Chief Minister who is contesting this election. Shettar had recently quit the BJP and joined the Congress.
Number of voters in Karnataka
• A total of 5,31,33,054 voters are eligible to vote in 58,545 polling stations across the state, where 2,615 candidates are in the fray.
• in the middle voterThere are 2,67,28,053 males, 2,64,00,074 females and 4,927 “others”, while the candidates have 2,430 males, 184 females and one from a third gender.
• A total of 75,603 Ballot Units (BU), 70,300 Control Units (CU) and 76,202 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used during the poll.
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Voters’ eyes on ‘Rahu Kaal’
As the voters left for their respective polling booths, many were looking forward to the auspicious time, especially on some of the candidates. Many people are likely to skip the time of ‘Rahu Kaal’ today, which will fall between 12.23 PM to 1.59 PM.
It is a belief that it is not auspicious to start any auspicious work during Rahu period. Due to this, the number of voters may remain less for about half an hour.
Apart from Rahu Kaal, Gulika Kaal which falls between 10:48 AM to 12:23 AM, Yamagand Kaal comes between 7:38 AM to 9:13 AM. Sunrise will be at 6.03 am and sunset at 6.44 pm.
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Who will win the Karnataka elections?
While the ruling BJP, riding on the chariot of Modi, wants to break the illusion of 38 years – Karnataka Having never brought the incumbent party to power since 1985 – and tightening its grip on its southern bastion, the Congress will give the party much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in 2024 Is seeking wrestling to give. parliamentary elections.
It also needs to be seen whether in the event of a hung mandate, the JD(S) will emerge as the “kingmaker” holding the key to government formation or as the “king”, as it has done in the past.
“A government with an absolute majority” was the battle cry of leaders of all political parties during the election campaign that ended on Monday, as they hoped for a clear mandate to form a strong and stable government, unlike what happened after 2018. Insisted. Election.
Remembering the 2018 Karnataka election results
In the 2018 assembly elections, BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats, followed by Congress 80, JD(S) 37. There was one independent member, while the BSP and the Karnataka Pragyavantha Janata Party (KPJP) had one MLA each. ,
With no party having a clear majority and Congress and JD(S) trying to form a coalition, BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa claimed and formed the government. However, he had to resign when he was unable to muster the required numbers within three days before the trust vote.
Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) coalition formed the government with Kumaraswamy as the CM, but the wobbly arrangement collapsed within 14 months, as 17 MLAs resigned and walked out of the ruling coalition, leaving the party Joined BJP to help it come back to power. , After this, in the by-elections held in 2019, the ruling party won 12 out of 15 seats.
Security arrangements for Karnataka elections
According to election officials, elaborate security arrangements have been made across the state and forces from neighboring states have also been deployed for the smooth conduct of the polls.
84,119 state police officers and 58,500 CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) in 650 CoYs (companies) are on police law and order and security duty on polling day across the state.
‘Critical Polling Stations’ are covered by one or more measures like micro observers, webcasting and CCTV to monitor the polling process as a force multiplier. The voting percentage in the 2018 elections was 72.36 per cent.
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Location closed in view of Karnataka elections
To check voter apathy, the Election Commission has come up with the idea of holding the polls mid-week to prevent people from planning outings and combining the polling day holiday with the weekend holiday .
One such popular tourist destination that has barred visitors from entering its premises on May 10 is Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park, According to an official notice released on the website of the Bannerghatta Biological Park, the tiger, lion, bear and butterfly parks will remain closed on May 10 along with the safari park and the zoo located within the perimeter of the park.
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