Will single-phase poll in Karnataka benefit any single party?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Elections will be held on May 10, while counting will take place on May 13.

There are a couple of interesting observations in the announcements made by Chief Election Commission (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.

Leading psephologist, Dr. Sandeep Shastri tells OneIndia the announcements made by the CEC makes it clear that all the focus will be on the Karnataka elections.

The fact that the ECI announced a single phase election is nothing surprising. It was the same in 2018 and 2013 as well. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were however held in two phases, Dr. Shastri said.

It also makes sense for the Election Commission of India to announce a single phase poll as no other state is going to elections at the same time. Hence the commission has the bandwidth to conduct the election, without having to focus anywhere else, he added.

However for me the most interesting announcement was the dates of voting and counting. The results would be known just two days after the voting and hence this would be a quick turnover election. There have been multiple elections in other states and the time between the date of polling and counting has been nearly a month, says Dr. Shastri.

On whether a single phase and quick turnover election would benefit any specific party, he says that the challenges would remain the same for all. There is no particular advantage to any specific party, but the challenges would remain the same.

The Congress has announce half its candidates and the JD(S) more than half. In fact the pressure on the BJP is much more. The Congress and JD(S) have deliberately kept some seats in abeyance, hoping that the rebels from the BJP may join them. In fact for the BJP the challenge is much bigger, he added. The BJP is finding it hard to accommodate the rebels who helped it form the government, he added.

The announcement of dates suggests that the entire focus will be on Karnataka and nothing else. The polls would be clear and everyone will be one focusing on these elections, he added.

On whether these dates would benefit any party in particular, he says that all parties have their strategies ready and there is no specific advantage. The Congress has already declared half its candidates and the other half remains. The BJP on the other hand is yet to realise the list and it would have a much larger pool before the final list is out, Dr. Sandeep Shastri said.

The Election Commission of India also announced that there are 5,21,73,579 people who are eligible to vote in the Karnataka elections. This include 2.62 crore male and 2.59 crore female voters.

With the women almost equaling the men, the question that arises is what impact will they have on the elections. Women normally turn up in larger numbers when compared to the men.

Dr. Shastri says that in the last 35 yers, Karnataka never returned the ruling party with a clear majority. The women have been part of the pro-change verdict in the state. Hence the pattern has been similar when it comes to the men voting, he said.

On being asked if the pressure cooker freebie campaign is high this time to woo the woman voter, Dr. Shastri said that the woman voter in Karnataka is smart and will not get wooed by the cookers.