BANGALORE: The electoral picture has become clear in respect of 14 of the 27 districts where zilla and taluk panchayat elections will be held in the first phase on December 19 with the deadline for withdrawal of candidature ending on Saturday.

Eighteen political parties have fielded 2,016 candidates, while there are 349 independents making a total of 2,365. In the taluk panchayat elections, 7,213 candidates, including 982 independents, are in the fray.

Of the total of 1,005 zilla panchayat and 3683 taluk panchayat seats, elections are being held in the first phase to 495 and 1728 respectively.

Besides the three major parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) (in the order of their presence in the Legislative Assembly) — the Samajwadi Party has entered the fray in a big way considering that it is a newcomer in the State. It has fielded 296 candidates in the zilla panchayat and 763 in the taluk panchayat elections. The revived All India Progressive Janata Dal, the political tag being sported by the Siddaramaiah group in the Janata Dal (Secular), will be fighting 140 and 430 seats for zilla panchayat and taluk panchayats respectively.

In the 13 districts going to polls in the second phase on December 23, there are 4,466 nominations from seven political parties and 1,721 independents. As many as 16,729 candidates including 4,016 independents, have filed nominations for the taluk panchayat elections in the second phase, the State Election Commission said.

December 3 was the last date for filing nominations for the second phase of elections. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be taken up on Monday, and December 7 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The Congress has sent in the highest number of nominations — 492 in the first phase and 1,813 in the second phase for the zilla panchayat elections. There are 1,727 candidates in the taluk panchayat elections in the first phase and 5,178 in the second phase.

The break up of the candidates of the political parties who are contesting the elections being held in the first phase to the zilla and taluk panchayats are: Congress 492 (ZP) and 1727 (TP), BJP 407 and 1242, JD(S) 463 and 1541, Bahujan Samaj Party 123 and 270, CPI two and 12, CPI (M) seven and 13, Nationalist Congress Party nil and five, Janata Dal (United) 44 and 135, Samajawadi Party 296 and 763, All India Progressive Janata Dal 140 and 430, Raitha Sangha five and 14, Janata Party 21 and 41, Shiv Sena 10 and 20, Vatal Paksha four and 17, CPI (ML) two and nil and Republican Party of India nil and one.

Charge against official

Samajwadi Party Kunigal unit president K.K. Ramakrishna has complained that the Assistant Election Officer in Kunigal deliberately rejected the nomination of the party candidate B.H. Muniswamy on December 3. In a complaint to the State Election Commission, Mr. Ramakrishna said the officer received the fee and gave a receipt but after accepting the nomination papers, he deleted it.

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