Security beefed up in poll-bound Karnataka

Security has been beefed up in the state of Karnataka in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police Neelamani N Raju on Friday said that law and order situation in the state is under control.

"Law and order situation under control and Election Commission is satisfied with it," she said.

She also informed that 82,157 police personnel and home guards and 585 central forces companies have been deployed across the state ahead of the elections.

She said, "20% booths are sensitive. 82,157 police and home guards and 585 central forces companies deployed. No communal violence reported, Rs 166 crore in cash & other election-related material seized."

Later in the day, Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were dispatched from Smt. Kamala Bai Educational Institution to polling booths.

The Election Commission has set up Sakhi, or Pink, polling booths in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections.

In Shivajinagar constituency, there are fivel Pink polling booths in total.

The pink polling booth concept is introduced to attract more women to vote.

These special booths will be staffed entirely by women including polling officers, presiding officers and security personnel.

On a related note, Karnataka will elect representatives to 224-seat assembly on May 15. A total of 2,654 candidates are in the fray and 4.96 crore people, including 2.52 crore men and 2.44 crore women, will take part in the election. Over 15 lakh are first-time voters in the 18-19 years age group.

The population of Karnataka in 2018 as per estimated data is over 68 million. The literacy rate is 75.36 percent as per latest data. About 84 percent of its people are Hindu, 13 percent Muslim, 1.9 percent Christian, 0.16 percent Buddhist and 0.05 percent Sikh.

The population density of the state is 319 persons per square kilometre. The number of people living per square kilometer in the city has extended to 4,378 in the year 2011 from 2,985 in 2001.

The BJP has fielded 224 candidates, while Congress and JD (S) have fielded 222 and 201 seats respectively.

The election is considered significant for the incumbent Congress, who wants to retain power in the southern state ahead of the next year's general elections, while the BJP is going the extra mile to dethrone the Siddaramaiah government and come back to power after a decade under the leadership of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

The JD(S), too, is looking to establish itself once again in the state's politics and is being perceived as a game changer in the state.