Casting his vote in the Karnataka Assembly elections in Bengaluru, actor Prakash Raj said it was time to vote against “communal politics” in the state. The actor cast his vote at a polling booth at St Joseph’s School in Shanti Nagar. “We have to vote against communal politics. This is the place where you have the right to decide. In elections and politics, it is the ruling party who is accountable and you know when and what to do and what you have suffered. We need Karnataka to be beautiful,” he said.
Prakash Raj had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Bangalore Central constituency as an independent candidate and lost. He received 28,906 votes while his competitors PC Mohan and Rizwan Arshad received more than 6 lakh and 5 lakh votes respectively. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) PC Mohan emerged as the winner from Bangalore Central.
The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats, and a party or coalition needs to cross the halfway mark of 112 to form the government. In 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 seats, Congress 78 seats and JD(S) 37 seats. After bye-elections in 2019, the BJP walked away with Congress and JD(S) legislators and the party’s numbers in the Assembly increased to 120, while the Congress was reduced to 69 and JD(S) 32.
This time, the Congress campaign has been focussed on the failings of the incumbent BJP The BJP has sought to counter this by invoking the personality of the Prime Minister and the power of ‘double engine’ government. The JD(S) meanwhile, has been appealing for a rejection of both national parties.