Bengaluru: Elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held in the first week of May 2018 and the tentative date of voting is May 2, a Tuesday. The notification of the elections is likely to be issued on March 17, 2018.

Though no official announcement has been made to this effect by the Election Commission of India (ECI), sources said that EC has written to the Karnataka Chief Secretary, seeking the government’s response on the issue of conducting elections on May 2.

Elections are likely to be held in a single phase as no other State in the country is poll-bound at that time, sources said. The ECI has also directed State Election Commissioner (SEC) Anil Kumar Jha to prepare for the elections.

The previous Assembly polls were held on May 5 in 2013 in a single phase, with 2,948 candidates in the fray. The State had witnessed 71.45% polling and the Congress had emerged victorious. Siddharamaiah had taken oath as CM on May 13.

Siddharamaiah, heading Congress satrap in the fourth year of his rule in the Southern State, will be under increased pressure to retain Karnataka for the Congress in 2018.

With the term of the current Assembly coming to an end in May 2018, the EC has kicked off consultations with the State officials on conducting polls on May 2. The date is convenient for the Election Commission as no festival falls on that day and also students would have completed their examinations.

The Education Department has been directed to explore the option of advancing Class 10, 12 and other examinations, keeping in mind the tentative date of election. It was in this backdrop that Education Department officials held a meeting with officials of other Departments yesterday. The meeting was chaired by Principal Secretary of Education Department Shalini Rajneesh.

“The role of the Education Department is crucial during polls. We have to ensure the polling date does not clash with exams. Teachers are required for poll duty and education institutes become centres of polling and counting. The Education Department has been told to complete important exams before the polling date,” sources said.

In 2013, Class 10 exams were held over 10 days from April 1 and, subsequently, teachers were deployed for poll duty.