Karnataka's public campaigning ends; Silence Period is in effect [details]

The high-voltage campaigning for Karnataka's May 10 assembly election ended on Monday, with all three major political parties – the BJP, Congress, JD(S), and various independents – making a last-ditch effort to lure voters. There are 2,613 people running for 224 Assembly seats. According to the Election Commission, there are 2,427 men, 185 women, and one transgender candidate among the contenders. Political parties staged enormous road shows and brought out their best campaigners in a final bid to attract voters.

"All electronic media(including websites, portals, web pages etc) are here by informed that during the preceding 48 hours from the time fixed for closure of the poll (i,e from 6 pm on 08.05.23) no election-related matter can be displayed in any form of electronic media," Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer tweeted.

According to the reports, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has candidates in all 224 constituencies, while the Congress has 223 candidates signed up. In one seat, Congress has backed Darshan Puttannaiah of Melukote, who is running for Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha. The Janata Dal (Secular) is running in 207 seats, whereas the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is running in 209 seats.

Congress vs BJP vs JD(S)

In order to win the election, the Congress party has placed a strong emphasis on addressing state-specific issues such as rising prices and corruption. Their well-publicized '40% commission' advertising mirrored this. Furthermore, the party is attempting to entice voters by promising to deliver on five 'guarantees'. The five guarantees include free energy for 200 units, Rs 2000 for every woman head of a home, 10 kilograms of grains for every individual in a BPL family, Rs 3000 for every unemployed graduate, and free transportation for all women on regular state buses.

The BJP, on the other side, has been vigorously campaigning with its agenda, which promises to establish the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The BJP has promised to adopt the UCC, which would replace religious personal laws with a uniform set of rules regulating all citizens, based on the recommendations of a high-level committee to be formed for the purpose.

Also, the Janata Dal (Secular), led by HD Kumaraswamy, has undertaken a very localised campaign. Despite desertions and internal schisms, Kumaraswamy has nearly single-handedly managed the JD(S) campaign, with party patriarch Deve Gowda taking a back seat due to his age and related ailments.

According to political experts, the BJP and Congress are concerned that the JD(S) is planning to gain enough seats (35 to 40) to play a critical role in government formation in the event of a hung Assembly.