NEW DELHI : The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the poll dates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. The voting for the assembly elections shall be held on May 12 and the counting shall happen on May 15. The Election Commission announced that the elections in the state will be held in a single phase.
The term of the current 224-member legislative Assembly ends on May 28. The elections in the South Indian state is due to be conducted in late April or early May. As per sources, the elections in Karnataka can be held in two phases.

The elections would once again see the BJP take on its traditional rival Congress, which has been in power in the state. After BJP came to power in the Centre in 2014, it has won in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Assam and Manipur by reducing the Congress to just four states.

President Amit Shah welcomed the announcement, saying that the party would come to power with a thumping majority under the leadership of state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa. The ruling Congress, which is facing a tough challenge from BJP, welcomed the election dates, asserting that the party is poll ready.

The elections are being held to choose the 224 members of the Karnataka Assembly whose tenure ends in May 2018. The polls are being seen politically crucial for the ruling Congress, as well as the BJP, as Karnataka is the only big state where the former is in power after losing a string of Assembly elections to the saffron party in the past few years.
The BJP is making a concerted bid to unseat the Congress. Besides, the Congress and the BJP, another player in the fray is former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s JD(S). Currently, the Congress party holds a simple majority of 123 seats in the 224 constituencies’ strong Karnataka legislative assembly.

The BJP holds 44 and the JD(s) has 40 seats respectively. Karnataka Assembly election significance The Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 are important for the Congress party, currently in power in the state, as this is the last big state where it is still in power after losing a string of Assembly elections to the BJP in the past few years. It is also important for the BJP, which will be trying to unseat the Congress and push its call for ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’.(With Agency Inputs ).