- The date of notification is April 17 and the last date to file nominations is April 24. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 25 and the last day for withdrawal is April 27.
- VVPATs will be used along with EVMs in all 56,696 Polling Stations of 224 Assembly Constituencies of poll going state of Karnataka to enhance the transparency and credibility of the elections. On a pilot basis, VVPAT from one Polling Station in each Assembly Constituency will be randomly selected to count VVPAT paper slips for verification of the result obtained from the control unit.
- More than four crore people will vote in Karnataka and 56,696 polling stations will be set-up in the state, which is an increase of almost 9 per cent from 2013 elections.
- The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately from now onwards. All the provisions of the Model Code will apply to the whole of Karnataka and will be applicable to all candidates, political parties and, the State Government of Karnataka.
- The maximum limit of election expenses for the Assembly Constituencies is Rs. 28 lakh per candidate for the state of Karnataka. All candidates are required to furnish their accounts of expenditure within 30 days of declaration of results.
- The 224-member Assembly expires on May 28 in the state where the Congress is currently in power, with 122 seats against the BJP's 43.
- Karnataka is one of the eight states where polls were scheduled this year. Elections to three northeastern states were held last month.
- The BJP is making an all-out effort to unseat the Congress from the only big state where the grand old party is in power. The Congress is looking to retain power in this crucial southern state under the leadership of chief minister Siddaramaiah.
- Beside, the Congress and the BJP, the JD(S) led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is the third player in the fray.
- The stakes are high for both the parties. Karnataka elections are not just about Karnataka. While the gameplan of the Congress is to win the Assembly polls and use the victory as a springboard for the revival of the party nationally, the BJP wants to extend its victory march and show yet again that it is unstoppable.
About Karnataka Assembly elections 2018
Amit Shah on Monday visited Sri Shivakumara Swami of Siddhaganga Mutt in Tumakuru, a revered seer of the Lingayat community, to seek his blessings. Shah's meeting with the seer is being seen as an attempt to reach out to the Lingayats/Veeshaivas.
The visit assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of the Siddaramaiah government's move to recommend to the Centre to accord a religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats.
The Siddaramaiah government has accepted an expert panel's suggestion to grant the dominant Lingayat community the status of a religious minority and forwarded the recommendation to the Union government, lobbing what could be an election-year game changer to the Centre's court.
The influential Lingayats who make up 1.25 crore - or nearly a fifth - of Karnataka's 6.5 crore population have traditionally supported the BJP. But the cabinet's landmark move could help the state's ruling Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections due this summer.
The stakes are high for both the parties. Karnataka elections are not just about Karnataka. While the gameplan of the Congress is to win the Assembly polls and use the victory as a springboard for the revival of the party nationally, the BJP wants to extend its victory march and show yet again that it is unstoppable.
In 2013, the Congress won 122 seats in the 224-member Legislative Assembly with 37 per cent vote share.
(With inputs from The Telegraph Calcutta)