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Karnataka Goes To Poll on May 12 To Elect A New Legislative Assembly

ASSEMBLY election in Karnataka will be held in a single phase on May 12 and the results for the 224- Member assembly will be declared on May 15 to ensure completion of the election process in the southern State before May 28.Announcing the program on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect in the poll-bound state. Karnataka where Congress came to power after defeating B. S. Yeddyurappa led BJP Government in 2013,is among  the three states where Congress is in power .The other two  states where the Congress is in power  are Punjab and Mizoram. Congress is also heading the government in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Mizoram, a Christian majority State in the North-eastern region, will go to poll later this year. Karnataka poll is 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 important player in the fray is former prime minister H D Deve Gowda led JD(S). The five-year- term of the Karnataka Assembly ends in May 2018. BJP President Amit Shah said on Tuesday “After Gujarat elections, this is my Karnataka trip. Extraordinary enthusiasm is witnessed here. Earlier I was saying it was a BJP wave. Now I say it’s a BJP tsunami” Shah said. Coming to Karnataka a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi ended his fourth round of visit, he said “Rahul Gandhi is touring. He has been saying that Congress government will retain power in Karnataka.”Since 2014 see the election records,” he added citing BJP’s winning streak since coming to power at the centre. Last date for filling nomination is 25 April. Scrutiny is on 27 April and the last date of withdrawal of candidates 12 May. Meanwhile, BJP’s National Information and Technology Cell head Amit Malviya has landed the party in a controversy by  tweeting the dates of the Karnataka Assembly election before the Election Commission announced it at a press conference. Though Malviya deleted the tweet, CEC Rawat said they will probe how he got the information .Rawat was responding to some reporters’ queries. The dates were however erroneous.

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