Karnataka Legislative Council: Polls to 7 seats set for June 29

Biennial elections to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council will be held on June 29, the poll panel announced on Tuesday (June 9).

The seven seats are falling vacant on June 30, according to an Election Commission statement.

Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will vote on June 29 to elect the seven new MLCs.

The Commission has directed the Karnataka chief secretary to depute a senior officer to ensure that the  instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with during the elections.

Election Commission to hold biennial elections (for 7 seats) to the Karnataka Legislative Council by members of State Legislative Assembly (MLAs) on 29th June, counting of votes to also be held on the same day. pic.twitter.com/u18wdTJbC7

— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2020

The counting of votes will be held on the evening of June 29 after completion of polls, as per practice.

The notification for the elections will be issued on June 11, the statement said.

MLCs are usually elected by four types of electors — MLAs, Graduates, Teachers and members of local authorities.

On Monday, the Commission had deferred elections to four seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council — two each from Teachers and Graduate constituencies — falling vacant on June 30 due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“If MLAs are electors, the size of the electorate is small and the assembly building is the only polling station. When the electorate is teachers or graduates, the number of those who can vote is higher. Due to the virus, Commission only allowed polls to seats where MLAs are the electors to prevent large gatherings,” explained a senior EC functionary.