Karnataka: Top leaders yet to declare PAN number

The Karnataka Election Watch Committee of the Association of Democratic Reforms has found that several leaders, including former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his brother H D Revanna, have not declared their PAN numbers while submitting their affidavits to the returning officer at the time of filing their nominations.

A report by the Karnataka Election Watch states that 240 candidates from various parties in Karnataka have failed to declare their PAN numbers at the time of filing their nomination papers.

While 62 candidates from the Bahujan Samaj Party have not declared their PAN numbers, 42 Janata Dal-Secular candidates have also failed to do so.

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have 42 and 40 such candidates respectively. The Samajwadi Party has 35 candidates, who are yet to disclose their PAN numbers, while the KVCP has one.

The report by Karnataka Election Watch also points out that fewer women are contesting the election this time. There are only 17 women candidates in the fray. The Congress has fielded six women candidates while the Bharatiya Janata Party has five women candidates. The Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal-Secular have 3,2 and 1 women candidate respectively.