The Election Commission of India declared the dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections on March 29. Its officials conducted a media briefing at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, in Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner of India Anup Chandra Pandeyand ECI Arun Goel revealed the final timeline of the Karnataka Assembly elections, polling on May 10, 2023, and tallying on May 13, 2023.
The 224-member Karnataka Legislature’s term ends on May 24. According to the official election list, about 5.21 crore electors are enrolled, with 5.55 lakh being PwD voters.
According to ECI, 58,282 voting stations would be established in 224 ACs for the 2013 assembly elections in Karnataka. The average number of voters per PS is 883. Webcasting is available at 50% of polling places. Women officials will handle 1320 polling locations to improve the voting experience.
At the press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also stated that the number of first-time electors in Karnataka grew by 9.17 lakhs between 2018-19. All new voters who reach 18 by April 1 can vote in the Karnataka Legislative elections.
According to the CEC, the Commission is bolstering groups to combat the abuse of money and influence, where 2400 stationary monitoring teams will keep vigil. 171 Interstate checkpoints in 19 districts are being monitored (sharing borders with other states). Many agencies operate in collaboration and coordination.
Schedule of the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023
| Poll Events | Important Dates |
| Date of Issue of Gazette Notification | 13/04/2023 (Thursday) |
| Last Date of Making Nominations | 20/04/2023 (Thursday) |
| Date of Scrutiny of Nominations | 21/04/2023 (Friday) |
| Last Date of withdrawal of Candidature | 24/04/2023 (Monday) |
| Date of Poll | 10/05/2023 (Wednesday) |
| Date of Counting | 13/05/2023 (Saturday) |
Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections 2018 Outcomes:
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections were held in 2018, and the results were announced on May 15, 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 105 seats, while the Indian National Congress (INC) won 79 seats, and the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) won 37 seats.
The election resulted in a hung legislature, with the BJP obtaining the most seats (104) but Congress receiving the most popular votes. Despite the Congress and JD(S) post-result coalition having a majority, the BJP, led by Yeddyurappa, established the government based on being the single largest party in the assembly. The Governor then offered the new administration a 15-day window to show its majority in the assembly, which the opposition saw as benefiting the BJP.
Since the Supreme Court reduced the timeframe to three days, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa withdrew 10 minutes well before the trust vote. The cabinet was, after that, established by the INC-JD(S) combination, with HD Kumarasamy as Chief Minister.
This coalition administration lasted 14 months until the upheaval resumed. Within two days, 16 government coalition members defected, while two independent MLAs shifted their allegiance to the BJP. This reduced the ruling coalition’s legislative majority to 105, the governing coalition’s majority to 101, and the opposition BJP’s majority to 107. After three weeks of upheaval, HD Kumarasamy quit after losing the confidence vote in the House by a margin of 100-107 on July 23, 2019. After that, on July 26, 2019, B.S. Yeddiyurapa administered the oath as Karnataka’s next Chief Minister.
