Karnataka Election: BJP Appoints CM Bommai As Chief Of Campaign Committee, Yediyurappa Among Members

The BJP has tried to strike a balance between two dominant castes by appointing Basavaraj Bommai, a Lingayat, as head of one committee and Shobha Karandlaje, a Vokkaliga, as convener of the other panel.

karNew Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda on Friday appointed Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai as the chairman of the election campaign committee for the assembly poll slated to be held later this year. Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje has been appointed as the convener of the election management committee, as per a statement issued by party national general secretary Arun Singh.

Notably, the party has tried to strike a balance between two dominant castes by appointing Bommai, a Lingayat, as head of one committee and Karandlaje, a Vokkaliga, as convener of the other panel.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has been appointed as a member of the committee.

The BJP has also appointed Union ministers from Karnataka and the party's state unit leaders as members in both committees. 

As per news agency PTI, a team of Election Commission officials led by the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday arrived in Bengaluru to assess the readiness for assembly elections in the state.

The team comprising election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel began a three-day visit to Karnataka as assembly elections are due by May.

After reaching the state capital, the team held a meeting at the Vikasa Soudha with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka Manoj Kumar Meena, and other officers, PTI reported.

The ECI officials were scheduled to interact with the representatives of various political parties to seek their suggestions, opinion, and complaints.

The team also attended an international conference on 'Inclusive Elections and Elections Integrity', which will see the participation of election commissioners of various democratic countries.

Today, the ECI will hold a meeting with the deputy commissioners of all the districts regarding the preparation being made for the upcoming elections.

Later, the EC will inaugurate an exhibition on elections, before flagging off LED vehicles meant for voter awareness.

The election commissioners will hold a press conference on March 11 before flying back to Delhi, as per PTI.