In all, 2,613 candidates are in the fray for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls after the last date for withdrawal of nominations on Monday. According to the final list of candidates shared by the Election Commission, 185 women candidates and one from the ‘Others’ category are contesting.
Of 3,130 candidates, who filed valid nomination papers by the deadline on April 21, a total of 517 withdrew from the contest by Monday.
Party-wise break-up
While 224 candidates are from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Opposition Congress has fielded 223, and the Janata Dal (Secular) has fielded 207 candidates.
A total of 918 Independents and 685 from registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) are in the fray, according to the final list. As many as 209 candidates are from the Aam Aadmi Party, 133 from the BSP, eight from the JDU, four from the CPI(M), and two from the NPP.
Previous polls
In the 2018 and 2013 Assembly elections, there were 2,655 and 2,948 candidates in the fray, respectively.
The number of women candidates has reduced from 219 in 2018 to 185 this time. In 2013, 170 women candidates were in the fray.
The number of male candidates has also reduced from 2,436 in the 2018 Assembly elections to 2,427 this time. The number of withdrawals have also reduced from 583 in 2018 to 517 this time.
Highest in Ballari
While Ballari City constituency has the highest number of candidates (24), Hoskote and Anekal follow with 23 each. Seven constituencies - Mangaluru, Bantwal, Tirthahalli, Kundapur, Kapu, Yemkanamardi, and Deodurg- have five candidates each, the least.
State capital Bengaluru, which alone has 28 Assembly segments, has 389 candidates, including 38 women.
The highest number of Independents are in Hoskote (15), Ballari City and Srirangapatna (12 each), Chitradurga (11), Gauribidanur, Kolar and Yelahanka (10).
Manoj Kumar Meena, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka, said a total of 16 constituencies have more than 15 candidates in the fray. “We will use more than two ballot units in these constituencies,” he said.
Polling will be held in a single phase for all 224 constituencies, including 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for Scheduled Tribes (STs). The counting will take place on May 13.
