Nine percent voters increase in Karnataka: Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar
Bengaluru: The number of new voters across the state has increased by nine percent, taking the total number of the electorate to 4,96,82,351 as against 4.36 crore voters in 2013 assembly elections," state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar told reporters.
"In which male voters are 2,52,05,820 and female electors are 2,44,71,979," he added.
In 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections, 7,18,000 new voters had registered. Whereas 15,42,000 new voters have registered in 2018.
Booths details: Karnataka Assembly polls will be having in all 56,969 polling booths on May 12, in which 450 will be all-women managed booths.
Poll preparations: The current election is required the total of 3,56,552 officers/staff as the polling in entire state will be conducted on a single day. 1,361 teams will be formed to observe Model Code of Conduct, whereas 1,503 teams will monitor candidate's expenditure and 1,542 will look after 2018 check posts for vehicular movements.
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20,000 more vacancies in Karnataka Government Jobs; Services affected
Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded an increase of 20,466 vacancies in government jobs this year, with data revealing that one-third of sanctioned posts in the administration remain unfilled. This shortage has led to significant delays in public service delivery.
Of the 7.72 lakh sanctioned government posts in the state, 2.76 lakh remain vacant, compared to 2.55 lakh last year. The Congress party had pledged in its 2023 election manifesto to fill all vacancies within a year, but 19 months later, this promise remains unfulfilled.
The finance department clarified that hiring is being approved on a "case-to-case" basis. However, mounting fiscal constraints, particularly due to over Rs 63,000 crore expenditure on 'guarantee' schemes, have slowed recruitment under the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Criticising the situation, Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted the impact on essential services, citing an example from Udupi district. “With just two employees handling land conversion applications, a service costing Rs 2,000 is being completed at Rs 25,000 due to delays,” he said.
The agriculture department is among the hardest hit, with a 65% staff shortage. Darshan Puttannaiah, Sarvodaya Karnataka MLA from Melkote, expressed concern over the situation, stating, “Government employees are overworked, often putting in 12-15 hours daily. Vacancies are pushing citizens to seek services through outsourcing or corruption.”
Currently, over 96,000 Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs, including stenographers, typists, and drivers, are being outsourced.
R V Deshpande, chairperson of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, remarked that the government should not be viewed as an employment agency. “While some departments need recruitment, others lack sufficient workloads,” he said, emphasising rising administrative costs.
The Congress government isn’t the first to face criticism over recruitment promises. In November 2022, then BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced plans to fill one lakh vacancies within a year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
