Bangaluru: The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that the Karnataka assembly polls will be held on May 12 and the votes will be counted on May 15. EC also clarified that the model code of conduct, which begins once the dates are announced, would not interfere with the formation of the Cauvery Management Board.

The announcement was shadowed by controversy with BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeting the election date while chief election commissioner OP Rawat was addressing a press conference but had not declared the date. The CEC described it as a “very serious issue” and promised stringent legal and administrative action.

Rawat said the notification for the polls for the 224-member assembly, which will be held in a single phase like the last time, will be issued on April 17. The last date for filing of nomination will be April 24 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature April 27. All electronic voting machines will be linked to Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, he said.

As the EC announced the dates in the national capital, BJP president Amit Shah was in Karnataka on the last day of a two-day tour of the state, leading his party’s bid to unseat the Congress from the state.

If the stakes are high for BJP, which believes that a win will energise its cadres after its shock defeat in recent bypolls and reaffirm its pole position before the Lok Sabha elections, they are higher still for Congress as a defeat will be a telling blow to its political fortunes, say political observers.