State to hold ZP polls on December 26

Karnataka will hold polls to 30 district and 176 taluk panchayats on December 26 and December 31 respectively. Voting will take place in two phases for 1,013 seats in zilla panchayats (ZP) (district councils) and 3,659 seats in taluk panchayats (TP). Counting will be held on January 4, the state election officer C R Chikmath announced here today.

Polls will not be held for three district councils - Gadag and Haveri in north Karnataka and Davangere in Malnad - as reservation of seats for backward classes is pending before the Supreme Court, Chikmath said.

The code of conduct which bars the government from announcing schemes that could influence voters will come into effect from midnight today.

The elections to these local bodies will be fought on party symbols and will be a major test for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is facing allegations of large scale land scams.

For the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), which have been demanding Yeddyurappa’s resignation, the polls outcome will show the impact of their campaign against alleged corruption and illegal acts of the BJP’s first government in south India.