BJP candidate Manjula Limbavali arrives at a rally to file her nomination papers, in Bengaluru. , photo credit: file photo
A total of 2,613 candidates are in the fray for the Karnataka assembly elections to be held on May 10 after the last date for withdrawal of nominations on Monday. As per the final list of candidates shared by the Election Commission, there are 185 women candidates and one contesting from the ‘others’ category.
A total of 517 of the 3,130 candidates who filed valid nomination papers by the April 21 deadline had withdrawn from the polls by Monday.
party-wise break-up
While 224 candidates are from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition Congress has fielded 223 candidates and the Janata Dal (Secular) 207.
As per the final list, a total of 918 independents and 685 registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPP) candidates are in the fray. There are 209 candidates from Aam Aadmi Party, 133 from BSP, eight from JDU, four from CPI(M) and two from NPP.
last election
In the 2018 and 2013 assembly elections, 2,655 and 2,948 candidates were in the fray respectively.
The number of women candidates has come down from 219 in 2018 to 185 this time. In 2013, 170 women candidates were in the fray.
The number of male candidates has also come down from 2,436 in the 2018 assembly elections to 2,427 this time. The number of withdrawals has also come down from 583 in 2018 to 517 this time.
best in bellary
While Ballari City constituency has the maximum number of candidates (24), Hoskote and Anekal have 23 candidates each. Seven constituencies – Mangaluru, Bantwal, Tirthahalli, Kundapura, Kapu, Yamakanmardi, and Devadurga – have five candidates each, the least.
State capital Bengaluru, which alone has 28 assembly constituencies, has 389 candidates, including 38 women.
Hoskote (15), Ballari City and Srirangapatna (12 each), Chitradurga (11), Gauribidanur, Kolar and Yelahanka (10) have the highest number of independents.
The maximum number of women contestants (six) are from Rajarajeshwarnagar, Jayanagar and KGF constituencies. Nippani, Harapanahalli, Malur and Chickpet have five women candidates each.
Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena said that more than 15 candidates are in the fray in a total of 16 constituencies. “We will use more than two ballot units in these constituencies,” he said.
Polling will be held in a single phase for all 224 constituencies, of which 36 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). The counting of votes will take place on May 13.