Bengaluru: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday announced that elections to 5,844 gram panchayats (GPs) in the State will be held in two phases on May 29 and June 2.
The first phase of polling on May 29 will see 15 districts voting and the second phase on June 2 will have the remaining 15 districts voting. Counting of votes for both phases will be on June 5. The first phase of the election will be notified on May 11 and the second phase on May 15.
Out of a total of 6073 gram panchayats only 5,844 are going to polls since the terms of 229 gram panchayats are either scheduled to end only in August 2015 or notified for changes or under legal scrutiny.
The state government has made voting compulsory recently by amending the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act. While the amended law has received the assent of the Governor, the government has said there will be no penalty on those who violate the compulsory voting clause.
Elections will be held on a non-party basis and a total of 94,458 GP members will be elected by an electorate of 2.81 crore during the two phases of polling. Fifty per cent of the seats are reserved for women. Polling will not be held in 229 GPs as their tenure will end after August 2015.
During the first phase, on May 29, polling will be held in 15 districts—Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajnagara, Udupi, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Haveri, Bagalkote, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Gadag.
During the second phase, on June 2, polling will be held in the remaining 15 districts—Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppala.
(Agencies)
