From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Aug 17: Though he is respected as India’s one of the best parliamentarian, the demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has resulted in postponement of the elections to Karnataka’s 105 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to August 31.
The reason: The public holiday declared by the state government on August 17 as a mark of respect for the former prime minister on the day of his funeral.
With August 17 being the last day for filing nomination papers for ULB polls, Karnataka State Election Commission has put off the elections by two days and it will now be held on August 31 instead of the originally proposed August 27.
Announcing the decision to postpone of polls to ULBs, Karnataka State Election Commission issued changed calendar of events on Friday for the polls to be held for 105 ULBS, including 29 city municipal councils, 53 town municipal councils and 23 town panchayats on August 31.
There is no further changes in the calendar of events according to release by the State Election Commission.
The Karnataka State Election Commission said polls for Shivamogga, Mysuru and Tumakuru City Corporations will not be affected in any manner.
Polls to the three city corporations were announced later by the SEC.
Over 36,03,691 electorate will exercise their franchise in over 3897 polling stations.
For the first time, the State Election Commission has offered NOTA (None of the above) option for the electorate.
The SEC has also permitted to print photos of the contesting candidates on the ballot paper to facilitate the voters to identify the candidate clearly.
The candidates in the ULB polls like the State Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, have to provide additional details of educational qualification and source of income.
"EVMs are being used in these ULB polls and the first level check has been completed by Bharat Electronics Limited,’’ said state election commissioner P N Srinivasachari.
The revised election schedule:
August 18 - Last date for filing nominations
August 20 - Scrutiny of nominations
August 23 - Last date for withdrawal of nominations
August 31 - Polls day
September 2 - Re-poll if necessary
September 3 - Counting of votes and end of poll process