Single-phase Karnataka Assembly polls on May 10, counting of votes on May 13

NEW DELHI: The Assembly election in Karnataka will be held in a single phase to the 224 seats on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13, the Election Commissioner of India (ECI) announced on Wednesday. The Model Code of Conduct will come into effect from March 29 itself

Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the gazette notification will be on April 13 and the last date for nomination April 20. The scrutiny of nominations will be on April 21 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 24.

The CEC said that this time, there are 5.21 crore eligible voters of which 9.17 lakh are first-time voters. There is also an increase in women voters and voting will be made available from home for those over 80 years with special attention for those over 100 years, he said.

The CEC said there are 58,282 polling stations of which 24,063 are in urban areas and 34,219 in rural areas. There are 42,756 transgenders in Karnataka as per records of which 41,312 have been enrolled. Special booths will also be set up for transgenders and vulnerable tribal groups. Also, 1,320 booths will be managed by women and 100 booths will be managed by people with disabilities, he said.

Also, as a new initiative, the Commission has decided that at least one polling station per district shall be managed by the polling teams consisting of available youngest eligible employee of that district.

The Commission conducted a special summary revision of electoral rolls in Karnataka with reference to January 1, 2023, as the qualifying date. After time-completion of the special summary revision of electoral rolls, the final publication of electoral rolls has been done on January 5, 2023.

Total number of voters: 5,21,73,579

Women: 2,59,26,319

Men : 2,62,42,561

80 years : 12,15,763

Transgender: 41,000

Divyang: 5,55,073

First-time voters: 9,17,241

City voting booths : 24,063

Rural voting Booth: 34,219

36 SC Reserved, 15 ST Reserved

Rajiv Kumar also said that they have partnered with the IIT and IISc to enhance voting percentage among youngsters and reduce urban apathy. An ‘Electhon’ is also being organised, he said.

“If you see the past records, there has been no violence and no repolling. We want this trend to continue and there will be zero tolerance towards corruption. The officials have already started cracking down on liquor, cash and freebies. We urge citizens to use the C-vigil app and lodge complaints about election frauds”, he said.

Identification of voters at polling stations:

For identification of voters at polling stations, voters can carry EPIC or any of the following identification documents approved by the Commission:
i. Aadhaar Card,
ii. MNREGA Job Card,
iii. Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office,
iv. Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour,
v. Driving Licence,
vi. PAN Card,
vii. Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR,
viii. Indian Passport,
ix. Pension document with photograph,
x. Service identity cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt./PSUs/Public Limited Companies, and
xi. Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs and
xii. Unique Disability ID (UDID) Card, M/o Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India