Bypolls to 5 K’taka seats today, test for CONGJDS combine
BENGALURU: The ruling CongressJDS coalition in Karnataka faces a litmus test as three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies go to by-polls Saturday, the outcome of which is expected to have a bearing on the state’s political scene.
The polls are significant as the coalition partners, who have decided to contest them together, have termed it as a “prelude” to the May 2019 general elections and called for a similar “grand secular alliance” against the BJP at the national level.
The BJP, which has been questioning the longevity of the coalition government, has predicted its fall once the by-poll results are out.
Polling in the by-polls to three Lok Sabha seats - Ballari, Shivamogga and Mandyaand Ramanagara - and Jamkhandi assembly segments will be held between7 am to 6 pm Saturday, with a total of 54,54,275 voters eligible to cast their franchise in about 6,450 polling stations. There are a total 31 candidates in the fray in all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between Congress-jds combine and the BJP. Counting of votes will be on Nov 6.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray is CM HD Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy, who is expected to have a smooth sail facing a virtual no-contest in Ramanagara after BJP nominee L Chandrashekhar withdrew from the contest and rejoined Congress, giving a jolt days before the polls.
Officials at the state Chief Electoral Officer’s office said, a total of 1,502 polling stations had been declared as sensitive. A total of 35,495 polling personnel will be on duty for the by-polls in which 8,922 Voter verifiable paper audit trail will be used, they added.
Senior police officials said elaborate security arrangements have been made in all the five constituencies. The announcement of the by-polls for the Lok Sabha seats came as a surprise to all the three major political parties in the state -- Congress, BJP and JD(S) -- who questioned the need for the exercise when the general elections are due early next year.