Bangalore:

An estimated 2,295 candidates have entered the fray for the May 5 Assembly polls in Karnataka, as the process of filing nominations ended on Wednesday .

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central) was among those who filed nominations on the last day.

As many as 586 nominations were received so far on Wednesday, taking the cumulative number to 2,947, with independents accounting for the largest chunk at 1051, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha told reporters here.

Candidates can file multiple nominations. Total number of candidates, who submitted papers is 2,295, a number which is subject to "updation" as Election officials are still in the process of compilation.

April 20 is the last day for withdrawal.

In 23 of the total 224 segments, the number of candidates is more than 16, which means that the authorities would have to deploy additional ballot unit as one can have a total of only 16 names, in the event of them remaining in the fray beyond that number.

As per the report submitted to him by the City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar, there is nothing to suggest that the blast near the BJP office today is linked to elections, Jha said.

He said authorities seized Rs.12 lakh in cash and eight kgs of gold in Tumkur district, Rs.three lakh in Deodurg and Rs.five lakh in Soraba, adding, an investigation is on to find if they were meant for "use" for the polls, in violation of model code of conduct.

source:http://indiatoday.intoday.in