211 Independent candidates among 358 file nominations for 14 LS seats in K'taka

Bengaluru, April 5: A total of 358 candidates including 211 Independents in Karnataka on Thursday filed nominations for 14 Lok Sabha seats by the end of the final day of submission of nominations.

Among 358 contestants, 333 are male and 25 are female, according to a release by the State Election Commission.

Thursday (April 4) was the last date for the submission of the nomination.

On the final day (Thursday) of submission of nomination papers, a total of 183 candidates (171 male and 12 female) filed their nominations.

No candidate from the third gender filed a nomination. The highest number of nominations was filed for the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha Seat (49), followed by Chikkaballapura (43) and Bengaluru Central Seat (40). In total, 41 candidates are from the BJP, 50 from the Congress, 18 from the BSP, 10 from JD-S, and 1 from the CPI-M who have filed their nominations. Additionally, 211 Independent candidates have also filed their nominations.

The EC, till date, has seized Rs 30.19 crore in cash, liquor valued at Rs 131.92, drugs valued at Rs 3.13 crore, and precious metals including gold and diamond valued at Rs 187.85 crore.

Flying Squads, SSTs, and police authorities have registered 1,240 FIRs regarding seizures of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and freebies.

Also, 790 different types of vehicles have been seized.