Karnataka election campaigning: The high voltage campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday with all three major political parties in the state — BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) — making a last attempt to woo voters. The BJP’s campaign was largely centralised with the focus being on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ‘double-engine’ government, national issues and programmes, while the Congress’ focus was on local issues, and central leaders like AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too campaigned in the state. JD(S) too ran a highly localised campaign, anchored solely by its leader H D Kumaraswamy, with party patriarch Deve Gowda too joining in, despite advanced age and related ailments.
Voting in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends on May 10, and the counting of votes will be conducted on May 13.
Karnataka election campaign highlights: The Congress, BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) campaigned in the state for the May 10 Karnataka elections.
The high-voltage campaigning for the upcoming elections came to an end at 5 PM on Monday. The state is all set to see an electoral contest between three major political parties including BJP, Congress and JDS on May 10.
Prime Minister Modi and HM Amit Shah did roadshows and rallies to understand the situation of the state. I am confident that we will win 135 seats in the Karnataka elections. Congress is a drowning ship, its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won only 2-3 seats in UP even after campaigning for 4-5 months, says BS Yediyurappa. (ANI)
"100% Lingayat Community is with us. Congress is trying their level best to create some problems but almost all Lingayats Swamis are with us and told me that they will support BJP," says former Karnataka CM and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa.
We are very confident and hopeful. I am not a predictor of numbers, I can only see the response that we have got from the public. The people of Karnataka want an end to corruption: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Bengaluru
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holds a roadshow in Vijayanagar, Bengaluru on the last day of campaigning for the Karnataka elections.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed crowd in Kalaburagi South in Karnataka on the last day of campaigning. The Karnataka elections will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will be conducted on May 13.
Rahul Gandhi also got down from the bus at Lingarajapuram where he again spoke to women at the bus stop.
Rahul Gandhi interacts with college students and working women in Bengaluru ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. The former party chief stopped for a cup of coffee at a 'Cafe Coffee Day' outlet on Cunningham Road. At a close-by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus stop, he spoke to a bunch of college students and working women.
He then hopped on to a BMTC bus and interacted with women passengers to understand their vision for Karnataka, party leaders said.
A number of BJP leaders including party national president J P Nadda, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adiyanath, Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madya Pradesh's Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Goa's Pramod Sawant as well as Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani, Nitin Gadkari, among others too have travelled to various parts of the state for campaigning.
Ahead of the March 29 announcement of polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the state seven times since January, to unveil several government schemes and projects, and addressed numerous meetings of beneficiaries of the government's various schemes. BJP leaders believe that his visits have strengthened the morale boost to party workers.
Modi's campaign juggernaut in the past one week since April 29 moved steadily ahead with as many as 18 mega public meetings and six road shows so far. The PM canvassed votes for BJP candidates across the state with the poll slogan 'Ee Baariya Nirdhara, Bahumatada BJP Sarkara' (This Time's Decision: Majority BJP Government).
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will campaign for the BJP and participate in two BJP roadshows at Kapu and Udupi town, party sources said. (PTI)
ECI on Sunday also held all major local newspapers in the state responsible for all matters including advertisements published in their newspapers.
Citing the Press Council of India's norms for journalistic conduct, the ECI, in a letter said, "An editor shall be responsible for all matters, including advertisements, published in the newspaper. If responsibility is disclaimed, this shall be explicitly stated beforehand."
In view of complaints regarding "unverified" claims in political advertisements, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked all political parties and candidates to get "clearance" from the media certification and monitoring committee (MCMC) before publishing any advertisement in the print media on the date of polling and a day prior.
The Karnataka Assembly which has 224 seats is all set to see a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) Party. The high voltage campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka will come to an end on Monday.
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Ahead of the March 29 announcement of polls, Modi had visited the state seven times since January, to unveil several government schemes and projects, and addressed numerous meetings of beneficiaries of the government's various schemes. According to BJP leaders, Modi's campaigning across the state has boosted the party's morale and confidence among the electorate, which they hope will convert into votes and help the party script history in the polls.