Campaign warms up for second phase K'taka poll

With the end of the first phase of Assembly elections in Karnataka, all political parties and its major leaders have immediately come into action without spoiling a single second. All those biggies, whose fate was sealed in ballot boxes on Saturday immediately shifted their attention from the Southern Karnataka and started concentrating on campaigning for their party candidates.

Meanwhile, the three-member Election Commission team headed by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami will be reaching Dharwad Tuesday for reviewing poll arrangements for the third phase of assembly constituencies in the rest 69 seats covering 8 districts, where elections will be held on May 22. While the second phase of elections will seal the fate of candidates in 66 constituencies on May 16 covering 10 districts.

The Congress leading star Rahul Gandhi, who could not campaign for the party before the first phase of polls is campaigning for the second phase in Uttar Kannada, UDUPI and Chikmangalur districts. Other prominent Congress leaders will also campaign in different segments. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi will carry out her campaign journey to Koppal and Mangalore on May 13-14.

Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) veteran leaders L K Advani, the Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha, BJP national president Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj will try to woo the voters. Narendra Modi is already attacking the opposition parties in the poll battle field.

Mulayam Singh Yadav will flourish his Samajwadi party with his presence including actor and MP Jayaprada.

But the campaign for her BSP party by Mayawati may create difference this time in Karnataka assembly. In the last election in 2004 the BSP though had managed to get just below 2 percent of the vote, yet had incurred big blow on the Congress by damaging its 30 seats.

The year 2008 is completely different from the year 2004 as the election is being held after delimitation and the numbers of seats for SC/STs have augmented substantially from 35 in 2004 to 51 in 2008. Broadly speaking, 36 percent seats are reserved fro SCs and 15 percent for STs under the newly delimitated constituencies.

This way despite not holding much ground for the BSP, Mayawati could create some difference in the outcome of assembly polls or else could harm the other party's interest.

The first phase has witnessed remarkable presence of voters in some constituencies like in Hoskote 151 polling booths saw a polling of 90 percent. Overall, as per the Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar an average of 66 percent polling was registered. With no disturbance noticed in any part of the state, repolling at polling stations in Malleshwaram and Ramanagara was held today owing to malfunctioning of EVMs.

While the first phase has sealed the fate of some heavyweights such as former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S), the second phase will decide the fate of former minister K S Eshwarappa (BJP), Kumar Bangarappa (Congress), former Congress minister Kagodu Thimmappa and many more. But the most sticky constituency will be Shimoga district, which will decide the political journey of former chief ministers B S Yeddyurappa (BJP) and S Bangarappa (SP).