Bengaluru, April 24: A record number of 2,407 candidates are in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka assembly elections, as per the nominations received by the Election Commission till Tuesday, the last day for filing nominations.
The candidates included 244 candidates from the ruling Congress, 258 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 208 from Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), 1,084 from Independents and 613 others from various regional and fringe outfits.
Of the 244 candidates of the Congress, only 15 are women. A total of 16 women have filed nominations as BJP candidates and 12 from JD-S. There are 56 other women contesting in the elections as Independents from various constituencies.
Among those who filed their nominations on Tuesday included Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from Badami in Bagalkot district, his second nomination besides Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district. He will face BJP MP B. Sreeramulu, who also filed his nomination from the assembly segment, in addition to Molakamuru (reserved) seat in Chitradurga district.
Congress on Tuesday fielded P. Ravikumar Ganiga from Mandya Assembly segment after the party's sitting MLA and popular star Ambareesh declined to contest though the party gave him the form required for nomination (Form-B) and tried to convince him in vain.
The party's state incharge K.C. Venugopal told the media here later that Ambareesh was not in fray for health issues but hoped he would campaign for the Congress as he was one of the most popular leaders in the state.
Polling will be held in a single phase on May 12 for 224 Assembly seats, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes. Votes will be counted on May 15.
Tuesday was the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will be on April 25 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 27.
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Rape accused's mother murdered by victim's brother in MP's Shivpuri
Shivpuri (PTI): The 60-year-old mother of a rape accused was killed allegedly by the victim's brother in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, a police official said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday, Rannod police station house officer (SHO) Arvind Chauhan said.
"An anganwadi worker returning from a hospital was offered a lift by one Inder Gurjar, who took her to a secluded spot and raped her. She called up her brothers to narrate the ordeal. One brother of the victim along with two associates went to Gurjar's house and assaulted him. When Gurjar's mother Sirkunwarbai (60) intervened, she was attacked with a sharp weapon. She died on the spot," he said.
Based on a complaint filed by the deceased woman's daughter-in-law, three persons were booked for murder. One of them was held on Saturday, the official added.
A separate case has also been registered against Gurjar for rape, he said.
Police personnel have been deployed in the area in view of tension following the incident, the official added.
