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Karnataka Today newsletter: 14 North and Central constituencies to decide fate of 227 candidates, and more

A total of 2,59,52,958 electors, including 35,465 service voters, will seal the fate of 227 candidates — 206 men and 21 women — in 14 constituencies from North and Central Karnataka that will go to polls in Phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections 2024.  As many as 1,40,705 polling personnel, including reserve police, have been deployed in these constituencies.

The segments going to polls are: Chikkodi, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Ballari, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shivamogga. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the State then.

The Election Commission of India has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls. Apart from conducting electoral awareness to deal with urban apathy and increase voter turnout, the EC has initiated measures to ensure that the extreme heatwave conditions do not affect voter turnout, especially among senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwD).

To help voters navigate their way to the polling station, the Election Commission has also come out with the ‘Chunavana’ mobile app, which will offer users polling booth location, navigation to the polling booth, candidate information, polling officers’ details, the queue at the polling station on a real-time basis, available parking space  and nearby emergency facilities.

Find more information about your polling stations at https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in. Read our in-depth coverage on the constituencies, candidates as well as election-related issues, and make an informed decision before casting your vote. See you at the polls!

An FIR (First Information Report) has been registered against BJP president J P Nadda, the party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya, and Karnataka unit chief B Y Vijayendra in connection with a social media post allegedly intimidating members of Scheduled Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribes(ST) community not to vote for a particular candidate, police said on May 6.

The action was taken following a complaint lodged by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) with the Election Commission and police on May 5 alleging violation of model code of conduct, they said. They were booked under the sections of the Representation of People Act and section 505 (2) [Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes] of the Indian Penal Code, a senior police officer said.