Karnataka polls - 2013 : Crucial test for BJP and Congress tomorrow

It has been a bitter five years marked by corruption, intrigue and vicious infighting with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) splitting right down the middle but Karnataka voters hope to put it behind them when they vote in a new Assembly on Sunday.A The polls have drawn national attention as the ruling BJP and Congress, the two major contenders for power, are locked in a bitter war of words over corruption.

The outcome of the polls, which will be known on May 8, is also being keenly watched across the nation as the BJP has split with B S Yeddyurappa, the man who gave the party its first regime in a southern state and who later quit to head his Karnataka Janata Party (KJP).A Yeddyurappa, who was forced to give up the chief minister's post in July 2011 over mining bribery charges, has repeatedly said that his main aim is to root out the BJP from the state.

Voting will take place for 223 of the 224 elected seats in the 225-member Assembly that includes one nominated member representing the Anglo-Indian community.A Polling in the Periyapatna constituency in Mysore district in south Karnataka has been countermanded following the death of BJP candidate S Mogegowda on April 29.A Over 43.6 million people, around 21.6 million of them women, are eligible to cast their ballots.

Other parties in the fray include the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal-United), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), and BSR Congress floated by B Sriramulu, former BJP minister and associate of jailed mining baron G. Janardhana Reddy.

However, the contest is mainly between the BJP, the Congress, the JD-S and the KJP, though it is not evenly spread across the state.A In most of the 12 districts in north Karnataka, which sends 90 representatives to the assembly, it will be a three-way battle among the BJP, the Congress and the KJP.A For 88 seats in 11 districts in south Karnataka, including 28 seats in Bangalore urban district, the main contenders are the Congress and the JD-S, as the BJP is weak in this region, except Bangalore urban.

It will virtually be a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress in the three costal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada, which together have 19 seats.A In the four districts in central Karnataka, the BJP and the Congress are the major contenders for the 26 seats.A The BJP campaign has been spearheaded by party president Rajnath Singh and leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.

However, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi stole the show with his virulent attack on the Congress and mocking Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Facts at a glanceA

Total candidates: 2,948 (Men-2,778, Women-170) (15:06) * Assembly constituencies: 224 (Voting will take place in 223 polling has been countermanded in Periyapatna following the death of the BJP candidate * The Congress is contesting all the 224 seats, the BJP 223, the JD-S 222, the KJP 224, the BSP 175, the NCP 24 and the Communist Party of India-Marxist 17. The remaining 1,839 candidates are largely independents and some are from the Janata Dal-United, Samajwadi Party and unrecognized parties and independents * Voters: 43.6 million (Men-22.22 million, Women-21.35 million) * First time voters (between 18 and 22 years): 3.55 million * Polling booths: 52,034 * Highly sensitive booths (prone to disturbance/violence): 10,103; Sensitive: 14,209 * Vigilance squads: 2,000, each of five members, including a photographer and a videographer * Officials on poll duty: 253,000 * Police personnel on poll duty: 48,182; Another 100,000 more will be on duty to maintain law and order * Constituency with maximum number of candidates: Bellary (29) * Constituencies with minimum number of candidates: Yenkanamaradi and Mudhol (5 each)

BJP criticises Cong for 'damaging' state's image

Bangalore (PTI): The BJP on Friday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders for "damaging" Karnataka's image during their campaign for the May five Assembly polls in the state."It was India's image that had taken a beating because of the corrupt Congress rule at the Centre," BJP general secretary H N Ananth Kumar told reporters after unveiling a book '100 Still Not Out! - UPA Scams'.

"The Centre is facing corruption charges in 2G, CWG, coalgate and several others scams," he said. The total scam the UPA has committed is to a tune of Rs 5.5 lakh crore, Kumar said.A In their poll campaign, both Sonia and Rahul had accused the BJP government of having "looted" the state. Rahul Gandhi had described BJP as a "champion" of corruption.

There is bickering in Congress in Karnataka over chief ministerial candidate and it could not distribute tickets sans infighting, whereas BJP declared its candidate and distributed tickets without a hitch, Kumar said.

To a query, he said that people of the state remembers the BJP government for implementing development programmes. "The Congress has conducted negative campaigning unlike our party. We have reached to the people with our achievements," he said.

Asked whether the party is ready for alliance in the event of a hung assembly, Kumar said this time people would give a decisive verdict for BJP.A On how big a threat was KJP led by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to the BJP, Kumar said there is a triangular contest in Karnataka. "Our contestants are Congress and JD-S."

In a separate query, the BJP leader said the UPA government should issue a stern warning to Pakistan and revisit bilateral relations with it over the death of Sarabjit Singh after a brutal assault on him in a jail in Pakistan.