All arrangements will be made for "free and fair" polls; Karna

All arrangements would be made and action taken to ensure "free and fair" assembly polls in Karnataka on May 12, state electoral authorities said, as the Election Commission announced the polling dates today.

"We have already taken all necessary precautions.. strict instructions have been given, everybody should participate in the election process impartially without being affected by any kind of allurements," Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar told reporters here.

"All arrangements will be done and action will be taken so that the elections will be free and fair," he said.

The Election Commission of India today announced asingle phase election to the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly on May 12.

Counting of votes would be taken up on May 15.

Officials said awareness about the importance of electoral participation was being created among voters through Systematic Voter Education and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP) and it is expected that the voting wouldcross 75 per cent.

"After awareness and other campaigns, already we have expectations that compared to voters' turnout in the last elections, it may increase. We are working towards achieving about 75 per cent voter turnout," Kumar said.

The voting percentage during the 2013 assembly election was 71.45.

Stating that total electors, including service electors in Karnataka as per the 2018 final rolls is 4,96,82,351 as compared to 4,36,85,739 in 2013, the CEO said, "there is a nine percent increase in the total voters."