Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: EC Reports 8% Voters In First 2 Hours

The Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 has been started to elect the 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly, amid tight security arrangements.

Polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m. Anticipating a high turnout of voters throughout the state, as prominent political factions are engaged in a tight race.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to make history by securing a simple vast majority for the first time in the state. 

The state is widely regarded as the gateway to South India. In both the 2008 and 2018 Assembly elections, the saffron party secured a significant number of seats, winning 110 and 104 seats respectively. The government was formed “through operation lotus” on both occasions.

The opposition Congress is seeking to regain power, buoyed by anti-incumbency sentiment. For 38 years, the state has not re-elected any government. 

The Janata Party government, led by the late Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, was the last political party to be re-elected in 1985. 

According to the Congress, their internal surveys have indicated that they will come into prominence in the state.

The JD(S) has expressed its desire to play a significant role in the government formation process by positioning itself as a king-maker. 

In instances of a divided mandate, the party opted to form coalition governments by collaborating with both the BJP and Congress parties.

According to available information, only three Chief Ministers who have been affiliated with the Congress party have successfully completed their full tenure of five years in office. Nijalingappa, D. Devaraj Urs, and Siddaramaiah, all former Chief Ministers, have accomplished this feat.

In the span of five years, the last term (2018-2023) witnessed three Chief Ministers taking charge in Karnataka. These included H.D. Kumaraswamy from JD (S), B.S. Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai from BJP.

The state currently has a total of 58,545 polling stations. The total number of voters is 5.30 crores, with 2.66 crore being male voters and 2.63 crore being female voters. 

According to official records, the state has a total of 4,927 registered voters who identify as belonging to the third gender.

There are 16,914 centenarian voters in the state. According to recent data, the dominant voting groups are those aged between 30 to 40 years, with a total of 1.41 crore voters, and those aged between 40 to 60 years, with a total of 1.89 crores voters. 

According to recent data, there are approximately 1.171 million voters in the age bracket of 18 to 19 years.

In the ongoing election, there are 224 Assembly constituencies up for grabs. The simple majority mark to secure victory is 113. 

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are vying for a spot in the Karnataka legislature, with hopes of securing their first-ever representation in the state’s governing body.