Mumbai, May 9: The elections to the legislative assembly of Karnataka are all set to witness a three-way battle between the ruling party BJP, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular on May 10. The state of Karnataka will go to polls on Wednesday, May 10 with thousands and lakhs of voters exercising their right to vote. The results of the Karnataka Assembly Elections will set the stage for next year's Lok Sabha polls.

Polling for the 224 seats of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on Wednesday, May 10. The elections for the Vidhan Sabha polls will be held in a single phase. Of the 224 seats, 36 seats have been reserved for Scheduled Castes while 15 for Scheduled Tribes. The votes will be counted on Saturday, May 13 with the results announced on the same day. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: When Is Voting and Result? How To Vote, Check Name in Voter List? How To Find Polling Station? Know Everything Here.

As the state prepares for May 10 polls, we look at some factsheets of Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023.

Total Seats in Karnataka Assembly Elections:

The total number of seats in the Karnataka Assembly is 224 with 36 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for Scheduled Tribes. In order to form a government in the state, a party needs to win at least 113 seats, failure to do will result in a hung assembly. It must be noted that the Karnataka assembly is the seventh-largest legislative body in the country in terms of strength.

Total Candidates in Fray for May 10 Elections:

The May 10 election in Karnataka will seal the fate of 2,613 candidates who are in the fray for Vidhan Sabha polls. Of these, 2,427 are men while there are only 185 women candidates who are contesting the elections. Meanwhile, one candidate is said to be from the "other" category. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Full List of Congress Candidates and Their Constituencies.

Party-Wise Number of Candidates:

The Vidhan Sabha polls in Karnataka will see a triangular fight between BJP, Congress and JDS with independents and regional parties also coming into play. For the 224 assembly seats of Karnataka, the ruling party has fielded 224 candidates while the Congress and JDS have pitted 223 and 207 candidates respectively.

Number of Polling Stations:

A total of 5.21 crore voters of the state will exercise their right to vote on May 10. Of these, 2.59 crore are women voters while 2.62 crore are male voters. Besides, a staggering 9.17 lakh voters will vote for the first time in this year's assembly election. As per the election commission, there is a total of 58,282 polling stations, of which 28,866 polling booths are falling in urban areas.

Manifesto Highlights of Karnataka Vidhan Sabha Polls:

In its election manifesto for Karnataka polls, the saffron party has promised to implement Uniform Civil Code and NRC among other things in the poll-bound state. The BJP party, which released its manifesto on May 1 has also promised ‘Sarvarigu Suru Yojane,' under which the Revenue Department will identify and distribute 10 lakh housing sites, and provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families among other promises. On the hand, the opposition party Congress' manifesto is called 'Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota' and consists of five guarantees including Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi & Shakti. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Full List of BJP Candidates and Their Constituencies.

Besides, the grand old party has also promised units of free electricity, free bus rides for women and a ban on Bajrang dal among other promises. Meanwhile, the Janata Dal-Secular party through its 'Pancharatna Yatra' introduced five programmes ahead of the elections. Some of these include economic assistance schemes for farmers' families, women's self-help groups loans being waived, and medical assistance to families among other things.

Security Details for Karnataka Elections:

Ahead of the May 10 elections, extensive and in-depth security arrangements have been made in Karnataka to ensure free and fair polling. As per reports, over 84,000 officers and staff which include including 304 DySPs have all been assigned to the 224 assembly constituencies of Karnataka. The state has also procured services of at least 8,500 police officers and home guard personnel from other states. This is in addition to the 650 personnel of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies and the State Armed Reserve Force which have been deployed for election duty. A total of 1,56,000 policemen will be used for safe and secure polling on May 10. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Voter ID Card Lost? Here’s a List of Alternative Documents You Can Use to Cast Your Vote.

The election results of the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 are likely to set the tone for the general elections next year. However, the question is will BJP win Karnataka once again or will Congress do a Himachal Pradesh in the southern state?

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2023 04:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).