Team News Riveting
Bengaluru, May 9
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said the affection he had received in Karnataka over the last few days had been unparalleled and it had strengthened the resolve to make it number one across all sectors.
Making a strong pitch for the return of the BJP government in Karnataka a day before the Assembly polls, Modi sought people’s blessings in the mission to make Karnataka the number one in the country. “Dream of every citizen of Karnataka is my dream. Your resolve is my resolve. When we come together and set our minds to a goal, no force in the world can stop us,” he wrote on Twitter.
After a high voltage campaign, Karnataka geared up for the mega electoral battle with the state all set to elect its representatives to the 224-member Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. With the stakes being high in this election, the major political parties in the fray- the BJP, Congress and JD(S) – and their candidates have made a strong pitch seeking to boost their prospects at the hustings.
The voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm. A total of 5,31,33,054 electors are eligible to cast their votes in 58,545 polling stations across the state. Among the electors, 2,67,28,053 are male, 2,64,00,074 female and 4,927 “others”.
According to state election office, 2,615 candidates are trying their electoral fate. Of the candidates, 2,430 are male and 184 female, and one from third gender.
Riding on the Modi juggernaut, the ruling BJP wants to break the 38-year jinx — the State has never voted the incumbent party to power since 1985. While the BJP had pulled all the strings to retain its southern citadel, the Congress is seeking to wrest power to give the party much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, all eyes are set on former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular). After counting of votes on May 13, the political position of JD (secular) would be known; whether it emerged as a “kingmaker” or a “king” by holding the key for government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.
