Nomination process for Lok Sabha polls begins in K’taka

BENGALURU: The major political parties in Karnataka are gearing up to submit their nominations for the 14 parliamentary seats going to polls on April 26, as the process of submission of nominations to the Election Commission of India began on Thursday.

DK Suresh, brother of Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President, DK Shivakumar, will submit his nomination for the high-profile Bengaluru Rural constituency and began the process by visiting a temple.

Sources said that Prajwal Revanna, the NDA candidate for Hassan and grandson of former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, will also submit his nomination later in the day.

The final date for submission of nominations is April 4, with scrutiny scheduled for April 5. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8, and polling will be conducted in the first phase on June 4.

The process of submission of nominations will begin for Udupi-Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, Chikkaballapur, and Kolar Parliamentary Constituencies.

Dy CM Shivakumar is planning a mega show of strength for the submission of nomination of his brother Suresh for the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat.

Dr. CN Manjunath, son-in-law of ex-PM Gowda, is contesting from Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate. Winning this seat has become a matter of prestige for the Shivakumar and Gowda families and also the BJP.

Senior JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy, who is contesting from the Mandya seat, is also planning a huge procession to demonstrate his strength during the filing of nomination.

Other candidates are also planning to make a statement while filing their nominations.