The Assembly polls in Karnataka will take place in a single phase on May 10, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
The term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends on May 24. The state Assembly has 119 members from the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the Congress has 75 and its ally Janata Dal (Secular) 28.
Following the 2018 polls, the state had ended up with hung Assembly. The BJP was the largest party with 105 seats, but it was eight short of the majority mark of 113. The party still went ahead to stake claim, hoping to get Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs on board before a floor test. BJP’s BS Yediyurappa took oath as chief minister, only to resign two days later before the trust vote could take place.
The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), which were able to cross the majority mark together, formed a post-poll alliance to form the government, with HD Kumaraswamy as chief minister.
However, after 14 months the coalition lost the trust vote paving the way for BJP to take control of the Assembly.
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