JOIN USThe wait for assembly election dates in Karnataka has ended with the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule and kickstarting the process. The election will be held on May 12 and the results will be announced on May 15. Political parties started their preparations many months ago and are in poll gear now. The official machinery for the elections will now be moved into place. The model code of conduct has come into force and so the governments and administrations at all levels, parties and candidates will have to strictly abide by the code. The Commission will have to ensure that this is done. A decision on the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board, as directed by the Supreme Court, may be a casualty as it may now have to wait till the elections are over. The long campaign, which starts now, may tire the parties and candidates and make it more expensive.
The elections are important for all the three main contenders - the Congress which wants to retain power in the state, the BJP which wants to come back to power after losing it five years ago and the JD(S) which wants to retain its relevance by winning enough number of seats to influence the formation of the next government. The Congress especially needs a victory in the state, as Punjab is the only other major state where it is in power. Some recent decisions of the Siddaramaiah government, which were taken with an eye on the elections, show how crucial they are for the party. For the BJP a failure to regain power in the state would highlight a series of electoral setbacks it has received recently, the victories in the North-East notwithstanding. A defeat in Karnataka may have a negative impact for the party on some assembly elections to be held later this year and even on the Lok Sabha elections. A Congress victory will certainly boost the morale of the Opposition.
The announcement has given rise to a controversy which does not show the Election Commission in a good light. The BJP's IT cell secretary Amit Malviya announced the date before the commission made the announcement, and it has given rise to questions like how the commission's confidential information got leaked and whether the BJP dictated the date to the Commission. The questions are pertinent in the light of the commission's unjustified delay in announcing last year's Gujarat assembly elections. The commission's credibility and independence have again come into question. Malviya's explanation that he got the information form a TV channel raises more questions than it answers, and the EC has got much to explain. All this points to a season of no-holds-barred campaigning and electoral contest.