Bengaluru: The Congress and BJP will lock horns on the electoral battleground again in less than a fortnight in Karnataka, as the stage is set for the second phase of elections in the 14 remaining Lok Sabha seats on Tuesday.
It is going to be a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Parliamentary segments in the northern districts. The JD(S) is not contesting in these seats and is supporting its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner -- the BJP.
The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling in 14 seats in most of the southern and coastal districts was held on April 26.
A total of 227 candidates -- 206 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for the second phase.
More than 2.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 28,269 polling stations where voting will take place between 7 am to 6 pm.
The segments where elections will be held on Tuesday are: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.
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.
Having scored a thumping victory in the Assembly elections last year, the Congress now appears determined to put up a strong show.
Karnataka is the most important state for the BJP in south India as it's only here that it has held power in the past.
Speaking to PTI, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said adequate security arrangements have been made for Tuesday's polling.
"Around 1.45 lakh polling officials have been deployed across the 14 constituencies. In addition, 35,000 civil police personnel, 65 companies of Central Paramilitary forces and armed police of other states will be deployed for the polling day," he said.
Besides this, 4,000 micro-observers will also be on duty and 17,000 polling stations will be covered by webcasting, he added.
Davangere has the maximum number of 30 candidates, followed by 23 in Shimoga and Raichur has the least number - eight.
Former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and Jagadish Shettar (Balgaum), Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and Bhagwanth Khuba (Bidar) -- all from BJP; Congress' Geetha Shivrajkumar (Shimoga) -- wife of actor Shivrajkumar and daughter of former CM S Bangarappa and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani (Gulbarga), are among the prominent names in the fray.
Also in the contest are MP and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, suspended party leader and former Deputy CM K S Eshwarappa -- both from Shimoga, former Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and ex-Minister B Sreeramulu of BJP from Uttara Kannada and Bellary respectively and retired IAS officer G Kumar Naik of Congress from Raichur.
Stakes are high for several Ministers in this phase with their children in fray.
Sons of Ministers Laxmi Hebbalkar and Eshwar Khandre - Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar and Sagar Khandre - are contesting from Belgaum and Bidar respectively, while daughters of Ministers Satish Jarkiholi and Shivanand Patil -Priyanka Jarkiholi and Samyukta Patil- are in contention in Chikkodi and Bagalkot respectively.
Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S S Mallikarjun and daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is in the fray from Davangere.
The Congress' performance in the elections, especially in the second phase which covers almost all Lingayat-dominated districts, is crucial, as the party did not win one of them in 2019, and to also check whether the grand old party has managed to retain the support of a section of Lingayats -- considered as the BJP's core vote-base -- which seemed to have somewhat shifted towards it in the 2023 Assembly polls.
The Lok Sabha election is being seen as a big test of sorts for Congress state unit chief D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret of his ambition to become chief minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term. The stakes are also high for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as victory in this election is seen as key to strengthening his hands, analysts say.
It is also seen as a kind of a "litmus test" for state BJP president B Y Vijayendra, who has the onerous task of helping the party retain its supremacy in the Lok Sabha polls, by regaining its traditional Lingayat vote-base.
Ensuring a BJP sweep is paramount for the son of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa, to consolidate his position and silence critics who have questioned his selection to the post, overlooking seniors and seasoned hands.
The ruling Congress is mostly banking on the implementation of its populist five guarantee schemes while the BJP seems to be leveraging the "Modi factor" to the hilt.
Comments
Mr Rikaz , Sarva shakthimaan modi does not have manthra danda to chance poverty overnight ... it is becoz muslims backed congress country is like this , they did all mess .. citizens responsibility is also there man , do you know how much percentage of muslim community pays tax ? why your communities represenation is less in army ? did anyone stop u . who is giving religion as excuse for population increase and demsnding more benefits ... teetege maklu huttisi govt benefit kodtha illa annodu bidi ... FYI ... as per major institutes poverty level is falling in india and purchasing power of Indian has gone up . there is a silent revolution happening ... padubidri ge bandaaga sigappa ... lecture kodthini ... sumne dont talk with fake facts ...
poverty also raises if u confine women at home ... In china and other countries woman work , why muslim countries fail on that front ? it is the same reason . chennagi odsi , amele beda kanammi population jaasthi maadana antha maneli confine maadidre apparanege desha uddaraga agalla ... nimma fear enu annodu gottu ... 50-60% of muslim gals who have studied well and working in top companies have non muslim spouse or bf . it is the fact u cannot deny it .it might not be in that nos in mangalore . but certainly in big cities .even here in singapore and malaysia .
Naren, poverty is there everywhere in the world and our India is not away from it, 23% of the population comes under this line, there is no proper plan with government to overcome that situation....Modi is thinking day and night about richest of this country and doing good favor for them....
# 16
hahaha land owner ? give me a break ... hogappa .. yaarla ninge ee kathe heldovru ...madrasa kaji heli kottidda ... owner anthe owner ,.muchkondu kooru guru kandideevi ... how ur community back stabbed everyone and how they took advantage of disunity among us .. yella gothu ... dalits and muslim combination ? hahaha ... i will tell u one story , there was a dalit leader by name MR MONDAL , He was staunch follower of suhrawardi and jinna .trusting their words he convinced his community members in present day bangladesh and merged one big district with bangladesh . he was offered minister post in pakistan . but within 2-3 years true colors came out . dalits were given either choice of converting or leave . he ultimately left bangladesh and pak and settled back in india ... hahaha .... this news i read in dawn . pakistani portal . do you want me to post the link mama ? it shows who are back stabbers ....
dear mr kazi , dog is famous for niyath kanree . its okay we are dogs for this land ... ee desha da uppu tindideevi ... so we owe loyalty to this land ... where as nimma hanebaraha yenree .. ummah word nalle confusion ... look at namak haram works done by rashtradrohis .. 99% yaaru anthane helbakagilla alva :) hahahaha... adsari madrasa kazi ne comment haakodu nodidre ... papa avra students yaav range ge brain drain agirbeku antha gothha gutte .. hahaha
Rikaz , kumda accelerate ... nearly 35 countries of of 56 islamic countries are in deep poverty , 10-12 countries have civil war happening ..ummah is totally confused .. indian muslims are totally confused too ... ummah army lead by pakistani general ... if u support it .. it means u r supporting pak ...Indonesian economy in brink , Chinese are taking over , Pakistan is being taken over by chinese ... malaysia controlled by chinese ...brunei is just a playboy state ... ur community members are getting kicked in middle east ... our iron brothers of israel is a big thorn there ... only turkey was bit stable ... but allu bomb blastu ... saudi athi sheegradalle deevali ... arabs shakes are planning their economy around mekka and madinah only as they dont posses technology to produce .. oil bitre maklu huttisodu ishtu bitre kumda nu gottilla ... accelerate anthe aceelerate ... go and check human development index and no of science graduates and tech companies in ur muslim countries ... talk with facts ... dont argue with me by holding fake data and point message at me ...
Dear Naren our population is only 20% despite being the owner of Indian land for about 1000 years that proves we were most seculars, tolerant and peaceful. When you came out from your cave with chaddi to support BJP & Modi for killing thousands of innocent Muslims in Gujarat we understood your true color. You can not fool Muslims and Dalits anymore. Stop hiding behind secular cover. Sooner or later India will be united against RSS and their affiliated terrorists'?outfits and will be cornered and finally destroyed with help of Indian Army In sh Allah.
Government of Karnataka should disqualify RSS affiliated / trained Police officials once for all. All Government departments must implement desaffronization process to keep country clean and secular.
Narianna .... it is true that Democracy has given right of barking to dogs... That is why DOGS are barking from Singapore.
If the school management objects the dress of the students, it is understood... Why these road goons / dogs are questioning... It is not their fathers college ... It is better to debar all students who question the dress of other students..
Naren, world wide Muslim power is accelerating which your sangh pariwar cannot tolerate....I think you guys needed burnol or itch guard more than anybody...Eat some cow dung that will give you relief from itches and burning sensation...
Dear Papu,
Why groupism?
Why names like KFD or BD?
Why not universal brotherhood?
We all need to start making individual efforts to build right and truthful society for the future generation. Groupism will take us no where.
Our act should guide the next generation to righteous and truthful path.
JAI HIND.
nationalist sanghis hahahahahahahahahah, this will be the best joke of the universe, no one ever can over take this joke in the world.
You can be universal comedian
hahahahahahahahah, anti nationalist=RSS who helped british during indo british war, your founder is such a hypocrite that he didnt even wanted to fight for independence and you call yourself nationalist hahahahah
I request to shimoga SP to register SUO MOTO case against chaddi user of this portal too for spreading hatred against ISLAM and true nationalist MUSLIMS by twisting comments. CD has saved from rape and murder of the journalism.
JAI CD and Journalism. keep going.
Viren Kotian, Mumbai
Who the hell is nationalist Sangh Parivar ???? Best joker award goes to You !!!
Sangh parivar is not nationalist they are anti nationalists. Terrorists.
@ Well wisher.....dont blame KFD ...while blaming BD...those are differenct things.....BD is infamous for raping flaming fighting...insulting which you do not see in KFD .......dont be secular while blaming BD. if you want to blame then blame only BD not
Viren bhai , that is not needed , becoz through this media , their frustration is coming out and we can enjoy burnol users mujra :) , i really love madarsa products comments , u know to be frank ... many of my friends who were secular hindus , they thought only we sangh parivar guys are doing all nonsense ... after following up with this type of website , their thinking now has changed . this type of news medias are needed for raise of sangh parivar bhai ... we must believe in converting negative to positive ... demoracy gives even dogs to bark , let everyone enjoy within the constitution framework . bjp is spreading across nation becoz of social media , thats what we need ... Long live BJP ... bholo bharath mata ki jai ... hara hara modi ... Viren bhai ,ask your friends to start burnol and itch guard business ... too much demand nowadays in some pockets of karnataka ...that too after demonitization and ban on triple talak ... sales barjari untu maarre . hahaha
Mr sensible , yes exactly so to kill 60 people in Godhra , your community brought up nearly 10,000 for just killing women and kids .. shame on your people .we know how 100,000 strong mob attacked kashmiri pundith women and aged people and took away their daughters .you people speak as if people dont know the facts . we also know in shimogga , how PFI brought in 15000 people to create riots .we know who are cowards .
I request Shivamogga SP to register a suo motu case against this news portal too for spreading hatred against Hindus and nationalist Sangh Parivar by twisting reports. CD has raped and murdered all ethics of journalism.
Prakash, don't instigate, if you can, stop ABVP from creating puss and nonsense around there....what is the need for them to create problems for muslim women around.....dont they have mother and sisters at home....it is every Muslim women's right and duty to go according to Islamic way of life....education institution is there to learn and educate ourselves....but not to create problems around....
prakash, bangalore/shimogga
Saku marre saaku. You guys not only need BD but also need Cigarette, Ganja, Heroin.
So the BD & ABVP has now started assaulting Muslim girls?? If strong action is not taken now, they will be emboldened to do more. Why is the police not taking action against those who assaulted Muslim women? Looks like Karanataka Police is under the influence of Sangh Parivar as well. If the Police encourages such behaviour, they shouldn't be surprised if someone takes the law into their own hands
Prakash, Why do we need help of BD, or for Muslims KFD or any other moral policing group every time. Why cant we support the right and do the right things. Why blame the communities always. If we Practice right things in our life and support that what is right... then we will never want any support from anyone.
Be proud to be right and truthful and always support the right fact.
Satya Mev Jayate - JAI HIND
prakash.. BD is group of rats..who will be the first to run if they see any other big group .. they can attack with 20-25 ppl on a small group of 3-4. cowards
This is why we need BD . Bajrang dal should intervene immediately , muslim community is doing all nonsense stuff nowadays they are turning our peaceful district of shimogga into islamic district .They re taking advantage of local cong ministers and MLAs . wish we have robust sangh parivar network like our dk and udupi.
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