Karnataka elections 2023: Election Commission to announce schedule for upcoming polls at 11:30 am today

Karnataka Election 2023: The Election Commission is all set to announce the schedule for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election on Wednesday. The poll panel has issued an invite to announce the election schedule at 11.30 am. The EC will hold a press conference at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital. There is a quarter of the 224 assembly constituencies, and the 51 reserved seats in Karnataka play a key role in elections. There are 5.21 crore voters including 2.59 women voters. The number also includes 16,976 centenarians, 4,699 third gender and 9.17 lakh first time voters. 

Since 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in the southern state. The BJP has 119 MLAs in Karnataka while Congress has 75 and its ally JD(S) has 28 seats.

The Basavaraj Bommai-led government last week announced two new categories for reservation in jobs and education. Chief Minister Bommai also scrapped the 4 per cent quota reserved for Other Backward Classed (OBC) Muslims. The 4 per cent reservation will now be distributed among the Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities equally.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has made several visits to Karnataka, a state which he has described on numerous occasions as the BJP's "gateway to the South". Last month, Amit Shah urged the people to give a chance to former chief minister BS Yediyurappa for forming a corruption-free government.

Also Read: Karnataka Elections 2023 Live Updates