Who leaked Karnataka polls' dates? EC faces tough questions

The political stage in Karnataka is set for a high-voltage election with the Election Commission announcing the dates for the polls.

Voting for the current 224-member legislative Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on May 12, and the results will be out on May 15, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday, March 27. This means that the model code of conduct is applicable in the state now with immediate effect.

The term of the current legislative Assembly will draw to an end on May 28.

Here's a list of the important dates for the elections:

April 17: The notification for the polls will be issued

April 24: Last date for filing of nominations

April 27: Last date for withdrawal of nominations

May 12: Polling for the 224-member Assembly

May 15: Counting of votes

The Karnataka Assembly elections will see 56,696 polling stations, an increase of almost 9 per cent compared to the last election, the Election Commission said at the press conference.

Special arrangements will be made for women and more than 450 voting stations will be managed by all-women staff.

Also, the polling will be conducted by using both Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) devices.

High stakes

The battle for Karnataka would be a three-cornered fight between the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS). While the BJP would look to regain its southern citadel, Congress would expect chief minister Siddaramaiah to retain the only big state it is in power. Political pundits believe Kumaraswamy's party, JDS, is likely to play the kingmaker in the election.

For the Congress, winning is of utmost importance in the face of its diminishing presence in India's political map. Since coming to power at the the Centre in 2014, the BJP has wrested power from the grand old party in Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Manipur. It is now in power in only two major Indian states - Karnataka and Punjab.

For the Congress, incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah remains the candidate for the top post. The BJP, meanwhile, has pitched a former chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa, as its candidate for chief minister.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BJP national chief Amit Shah have already kicked off campaigning in the state's battleground constituencies. Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath too have exchanged barbs in the recent past, adding to the political heat and communal polarisation in the state.

With the Lingayat issue being served fresh to the public, the communal question is likely to remain high on the agenda of political parties.

The Karnataka Assembly elections in 2013 had witnessed the Congress storming to power with 122 seats after occupying the Opposition benches for seven years, landing a huge blow for the BJP, which was battling a fractious split and corruption charges.

Controversy

A war of words of broke out between the BJP and its opponents as even before chief election commissioner (CEC), OP Rawat, announced the dates for the election, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted the poll dates. While he got the voting date right, he erred on the counting date.

Interestingly, an unverified handle, purported to be that of Karnataka Congress' social media in-charge, Srivatsa YB, also tweeted the same dates as Malviya, before the dates were announced. The development led to many raise questions over the credibility of the Election Commission.  

After being questioned over how he managed to get the election dates before EC announced it, Malviya attributed his information to Times Now.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter to say that the BJP was a “Super Election Commission” for having pre-empted the dates and said that the credibility of the EC was on the line.

The development led to confusion a few minutes into the EC's press conference.

Though Rawat clarified that the dates were incorrect, and Malviya later deleted his tweet, the CEC conceded: "Certain things may have leaked for which Election Commission will take appropriate action. It will be investigated. Be assured that actions legally and administratively befitting will be taken."

Also read: Why Rahul Gandhi was right to admit he didn’t know about NCC training