Karnataka Assembly Election 2023: Voter turnout at 20.94% recorded till 11 AM

The electoral arena in Karnataka in the run-up to the State Assembly elections 2023, on May 10, has turned out to be a battleground that is outpacing any other in living memory. Karnataka Assembly Election 2023: Voter turnout at 20.94% recorded till 11 AM according to the Election Commission.

The Karnataka election will decide the fate of 2,615 candidates fielded across 224 assembly constituencies. The southern state is witnessing a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress, and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular).

The electoral fate of top guns Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress veterans Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy among others will be sealed during the day-long exercise. While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, wants to break the 38-year jinx the State has never voted the incumbent party to power since 1985, the Congress is seeking to wrest power to give the party the much-needed elbow room ahead of 2024 polls.

Also what needs to be seen is, whether the JD (S) will emerge as a “kingmaker” or a “king” by holding the key for government formation, in the event of a hung verdict. A total of 3,632 candidates filed nominations for the Karnataka Assembly elections, as per data from the Election Commission till the last day for filing nominations.

A total of 5,31,33,054 electors are eligible to cast their votes in 58,545 polling stations across the State, where 2,615 candidates are in the fray. Among the electors, 2,67,28,053 are male, 2,64,00,074 female and 4,927 “others”, while among the candidates 2,430 are male, 184 female and one from a third gender.

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As many as 11,71,558 are young voters, while 5,71,281 are persons with disabilities (PWDs) and 12,15,920 are aged above 80. While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, wants to break the 38-year jinx and retain its southern citadel, the Congress is seeking to wrest power to give the party much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.