The Karnataka Assembly polls will be held on May 12 and the votes will be counted on May 15, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat announced.

The notification for the polls will be issued on April 17 and the last date for filing of nomination will be April 24, Rawat said at a press conference. April 27 will be the last date of withdrawal of candidates, he added.

All electronic voting machines will be linked to Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, he said.

He said the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect immediately. He further said that the code is applicable to union government as well. He said, "Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) will be deployed in Karnataka to maintain law and order."

Outlining details, Rawat said the ceiling on expenditure per candidate has been fixed at Rs 23 lakh. However, he said, there is no cap on expenditure of political parties.

Rawat urged the media to report any wrongdoings so that any complaint could be acted upon immediately.The last state elections were held in the first week of May in 2013.

The polls are being seen politically crucial for the ruling Congress as well as the BJP as it is the only big state where the former is in power after losing a string of assembly elections to the saffron party in the last few years.

The BJP is making a concerted bid to unseat the Congress.

Beside, the Congress and the BJP, the JD(S) led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published:Mar 27, 2018 5:53 AM IST