The State of Karnataka is set to witness the 18th Lok Sabha elections in two phases, as announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The two phases of voting are set to occur in the second and third phases of the General Election, scheduled on April 26 and May 7 respectively.
The counting of votes and declaration of results will be on June 4.
Karnataka comprises 28 seats that are divided into 14 constituencies for each of the phases. While the second phase will see the southern parts of the State exercising their franchise, the third phase will be seeing the northern parts.
They are divided as follows:
Phase two (scheduled on April 26, 2024): Udupi Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikkballapur and Kolar
Phase three (scheduled on May 7, 2024): Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere and Shimoga
The last date for filing one’s nomination for the second phase was April 4 and the date set for the third phase for the same has been declared as April 19.
Karnataka By-election
Karnataka Legislative Assembly by-election the Surpur (Shorapur) constituency located in the Yadgir district is also scheduled to occur simultaneously with the General Election. The reason for the same is the death of Congress leader and MLA Raja Venkatappa Naik in February 2024. While the Congress has nominated his son Raja Venugopal Naik for the seat, the BJP has nominated Narasimha Nayak, also known as Raju Gowda, for the same. The bypoll will be conducted on May 7.
The two major contesting alliances in Karnataka are the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). While the majority of the candidates from the NDA are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — 25, a smaller portion of the candidates belong to the Janata Dal (Secular) party [JD(S)] — 3. On the other hand, all of the 28 candidates representing the INDIA bloc are from the Indian National Congress (INC).
As per the census held in Karnataka in 2011, the 28 seats represent the State population of about 6.11 crore citizens.
In the previous Lok Sabha election, Karnataka consisted of a majority of the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, winning 25 of the 28 constituencies. An independent politician Sumalatha, who is also a part of the NDA and has now joined the BJP, won a seat as well. The INC and JD(S) from the INDIA each won one of the remaining two seats in the 17th Lok Sabha (2019).
