Karnataka elections to be held on 12 May
27 Mar 2018
Elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will be held on 12 May and the results declared on 15 May, Election Commissioner OP Rawat announced on Tuesday.
With this announcement, the model code of conduct has come into immediate effect.
The Congress will be involved in a stiff fight with the BJP, which aims to replace the party in the state. Chief minister Siddaramaiah is being challenged by the BJP, which hopes to form a government in the southern state, with BS Yedurappa as its chief minister.
Karnataka is also the only southern state where the BJP has a significant presence and where regional parties do not play a significant role. It is important for the party to come to power in Karnataka, especially as general elections would be held across the country just a year later.
Elections in Karnataka also herald the big fight between the BJP and the Congress, which will be engaged in contests in major states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in a few months.
The BJP has a stiff fight with a Congress that is expected to revive its electoral fortunes in these three states.
But in Karnataka, where the Congress has ruled with a simple majority of 123 seats in a house of 224, it faces a tough challenge. The BJP has 44 seats in the outgoing assembly, while the JD (S) (of former prime minister H.D.Deve Gowda) has 40 seats.