As many as 553 candidates are in the fray from the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State, following the completion of scrutiny process on Thursday.

The numbers are likely to change as there are still two more days left for the withdrawal of nominations.

Addressing a press conference in Bangalore, Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha said as many as 51 of the 916 nominations filed were rejected as they were either incomplete, or had not followed the proforma. 

The highest number of validly nominated candidates in the fray is in Bidar (38), followed by Bangalore Central (27) and Kolar and Davangere (26 each). The lowest number of candidates in the fray as on Thursday is in Uttara Kannada (10). The final picture will be known on March 29, the last day for the withdrawal of nominations, he said.

Jha specified that there was no need to take permission from the election authorities for conducting marriages, naming ceremonies or other rituals. At the same time, precautions must be taken to ensure that the functions are not misused for political purposes, he said.

Jha said parents were visiting his office to know whether there was any restriction on conducting marriages of their children during elections. However, mass marriages will not be allowed, Jha said. 

The total cash seized so far is Rs 2.64 crore, Jha said and added that seven persons were arrested in Yelahanka on Wednesday for transporting 3.5 tonnes of rice without any valid documents. In Dharwad, 608 gm of gold and 7.77 kg of silver have been seized. As many as 479 cases of violation of model code of conduct have been filed, Jha added.

Kesava’s papers accepted

D K Ravi, deputy commissioner and district electoral officer, has accepted the nomination papers of JD(S) candidate K Kesava, reports DHNS from Kolar. Kesava had got a certificate in 1994, saying that he belongs to the Bovi community, which comes under the Scheduled Castes in Karnataka. In Andhra Pradesh, he is part of the Vadde caste, which falls under the other backward classes in that state.

But the caste certificate that he had secured from the tahsildar of Bangalore North taluk in March this year had been cancelled. This had led a private organisation to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission.