Its judgment day
Karnataka Assembly Poll Outcome 2008
Below find the live update of Karnataka 2008 Assembly Election results.
Final Results
Total number of seats โ 224 Results Declared โ 224 Trends Available โ 224 Party Name Ahead Won Total Congress 0 80 80 (+12) BJP 0 110 110 (+30) JD(S) 0 28 28 (-26) Others 0 6 6 (-16) BJP Vote Share 34.6 % Congess Vote Share 35.7 % JD(S) Vote Share 18.8 % Other Vote Share 10.9%
The number of independents who have won this time are
the lowest in the history of Assembly elections in the
state.
Of the six independents, four are Congress rebels while
one is a JD-S rebel and the other a BJP rebel.
According to BJP sources, chief ministerial nominee
B S Yeddyurappa will meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur to
stake his claim to form the government only after
enlisting the support of three independents that will
be also required to survive a floor test. MANDYA: All eyes here are on P.M.Narendraswamy, the independent candidate who won the Malavalli seat. After the Congress denied him ticket, he entered the fray with the confidence of making it to the Assembly. Although the BJP tried to woo him, he preferred to fight the elections as an independent. Now that the BJP is running short of simple majority, the support of independents has become crucial for the formation of a new government in the State.
47 candidates face criminal charges
32 with criminal charges are in the fray Special Correspondent
BANGALORE: Even as the State prepares for the third phase of polling for the Assembly elections, the list of candidates includes a large number of candidates having criminal background from three major parties. A study, โKarnataka Election Watch 2008โ, released by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that the wealth of candidates has increased multifold since the last elections in 2004. ADR spokesperson Trilochan Sastry told presspersons here on Saturday that there were 36 candidates with grievous criminal charges such as murder, attempt to murder, bribery, cheating, dacoity, forgery, rape and theft. Of them, 27 were from major political parties. The BJP tops the list of parties having candidates with criminal cases against them with 12 candidates followed by the Janata Dal (Secular) with seven and the Congress with six. Eleven other candidates have criminal records. Mr. Sastry said the ADR was careful to include only those charges that were serious in nature. One BJP candidate faced charges of murder while in the Congress, four of them faced charges of murder. The Janata Dal (Secular) has one such case. The document says 140 candidates with serious criminal charges have contested in all the three phases of elections so far. The document states that there are 22 candidates who faced grievous charges in 2004 but the nature of their offences have changed after they became MLAs or when their parties came to power. The ADR wants the authorities to investigate into the charges. Giving details about the volume of wealth accumulated by the candidates contesting in the third phase, the document says the candidates have amassed wealth of Rs. 199.02 crores since the last elections in 2004.
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Reforms could ensure more voter turnout
Research could throw up answers for poor poll percentage
Poll percentage could improve if the Government makes a โdetermined attemptโ to bring in reforms
โInvolvement of Resident Welfare Associations, NGOs and other concerned citizens would helpโ
MYSORE: The voter turnout in the second phase of the elections held in ten districts has been put at 60 per cent, which is a drop of six per cent from the first phase of polls. What could be the reason for voter apathy? Can reforms set right the apathy and ensure people turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise? Social activist Vasanthkumar Mysoormath, who conducted voter awareness movements in 1999, 2004 and 2008 elections (first phase), has echoed Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer P. Manivannanโs reported view that research has to be conducted on poor poll percentage. โIt is high time that such an exercise is undertaken by the Government of India. A number of election reforms are long-pending before the Centre. The Election Commission itself has forwarded some suggestions that are pending since many years now,โ said Mr. Mysoormath, who was the presiding officer in more than 10 elections. Mr. Mysoormath, who retired from the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, maintained that the poll percentage can be substantially improved if the Government makes a โdetermined attemptโ to bring in reforms as recommended by the Election Commission and experts over the years. He, too, had made certain suggestions for improving the poll percentage.Missing names Many eligible voters have been denied their right to vote because their names were missing,although they held Electorโs Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). โWhy should they keep running around in circles to obtain updated EPICs every time there is an election, only to be turned down because the revised rolls do not contain their names,โ he asked. The money and energy spent for enumeration and preparation of electoral rolls with the help of teachers and government officials has time and again failed to produce the required results. This needs to be answered because public money is being splurged to prepare incorrect rolls and to deny the citizens their right to vote, he said. Involvement It is also time for the citizens to behave in a responsible manner and involve themselves at the grassroots level to help the EC set right the perennial problem, he said. The three-tier system applicable to rural areas viz., zilla, taluk and gram panchayats, is absent in urban areas. To fill this gap, involvement of Resident Welfare Associations/NGOs and other concerned citizens would help. Better network โStreet committees with volunteers from the residents in a street are the need of the hour. They, in turn, can coordinate with ward committees for enumeration and compilation of near-perfect electoral rolls and also for assessing the works and projects that need attention and for projecting their demands and grievances with the concerned service providers,โ Mr. Mysoormath suggested.Sensitising youth. The youth of the country has exhibited rank apathy due to their feeling that โpolitics is a dirty businessโ. Many have expressed disgust over the behaviour of politicians in Parliament/Assemblies. โNot botheredโ โThe youth have not bothered even to register themselves as voters because of the cumbersome procedure and running around to get an EPIC which nevertheless becomes useless by the next election. This attitude needs to be changed,โ he said. Political will What the country needs is political will to bring necessary legislation through amendment to those rule books that govern elections. โCountries like Turkey and Australia have compulsory voting and the turnout is about 90-plus per cent. What made those countries prescribe such a rule and how it is implemented may be studied and adopted in our country also,โ he said. Incentives Can incentives attract voters? Some incentive is bound to attract at least a percentage of people to stop being apathetic and cynical and proceed to vote. โA system may be prescribed: those who vote may be given a certificate by the EC for claiming say one or two per cent reduction in their electricity bills or water bills or property tax for a certain period after an election. If the percentage of voting can be increased by spending a few crores, then it will be well worth trying,โ said Mr. Mysoormath. EC has failed to check flow of money Election Commission has failed to check distribution of money and other articles among voters. Mine lords, members of land mafia and anti-social elements were controlling the elections, which a dangerous development in democracy. Major political parties had no moral right to go before the electorate as they had forgotten the basic principles of politics.four polling booths in Bellary alleged rigging during the second phase of Karnataka assembly elections. Tribal organisations, demand, disqualification, of candidatesAdivasi Swayattategagi Rastriya Rangha (ASRR)and Nagarahole Tribal Rights Samithi have urged the Election Commission to disqualify three candidates contesting from H D Kote(Reserve) Assembly Constituency for allegedly producing false caste certificates. According to a press note issued by Samithi Convenor P K Ramu, the candidates Mr Chikkanna (Congress), Mr Chikkaveera Nayaka (BJP)and (Mr Doddanayaka (JD-S) had contested the Assembly elections from this reserved constituency for tribals and urged the Commission to disqualify and file criminal cases against them. Earlier, based on a complaint filed by the public, Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer P Manivannan had suspended H D Kote Tahasildar T Vijya and ordered a departmental inquiry against her for issuing S T certificate to BJP candidate Chikkaveera Naika. They alleged that all three candidates had tampered with the school documents and produced the false caste certificates during the time of the election process and contested from H D Kote. The Assistant Commissioner of Hunsur Sub Division M R Ravi had submitted a report to the district election officer alleging tampering with the records by the three candidates to claim the Scheduled Tribe status to contest the election. In his report, Mr Ravi stated the Tahsildar of H D Kote had issued controversial caste certificates without verifying the original documents and failed to follow the procedures before issuing them. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer P Manivannan said the report had been sent to the Election Commission for further action. In Reserved Constituencies, the Major Opposition Parties have encouraged False Caste
Certificate holders as candidates.May be to keep them under their control for not asking for any provisions of reservation. In CV Raman Nagar Constitutncy similar action was not taken when objection was raised
during scrutiny, they were not rejected but accepted since the Tahsildars had issued them certificates and EC said that they were helpless and only the Courts can help them.