The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The polling will be held on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
The term of the 224-member Assembly ends on May 24.
As per Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, total electors in Karnataka are 5.2 crore. He informed that the total number of 80 plus year-old electors stands at 12.15 lakh.
Over 9.17 lakh first-time voters will participate in the elections. Under Advance Application Facility over 1.25 lakh applications were received from 17 years plus youths, out of which around 41,000 applications were received from youths turning 18 years by April 1, 2023.
The Model Code of Conduct in the state has come into force with the announcement of poll schedule.
CEC Rajiv Kumar said the urban apathy and misuse of money power are the two major issues in the state and appropriate initiatives are being taken in this regard. "We have directed all the enforcement authorities on this," said the CEC.
The Election Commission (EC) is strengthening its teams to curb the misuse of money power, the CEC said. There will be 2,400 static surveillance teams to keep strict vigil and multiple agencies working in synergy and coordination, he added.
To ensure free, fair and inducement-free elections, the awareness and cooperation of citizens are key. Citizens can report any kind of electoral malpractices to the ECI through cVIGIL App, the CEC added.