The Karnataka assembly election is likely to be held on May 20 and 23, with counting to be held on May 27.
The term of the present state assembly runs till June 3 this year.
The Election Commission has informally discussed the poll schedule for Karnataka, which has been plagued by uncertainty following the exit of Bharatiya Janata Party strongman B Yeddyurappa and the resignation of his followers from the assembly, putting Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar in an untenable situation.
The full bench of the EC may meet in the first week of March and the announcement of election schedule may take place by March 10, said a source.
The chief electoral officer of Karnataka, in his presentation to the deputy EC in Delhi, is believed to have referred to a pending case in the Supreme Court on civic polls in states which may come up for hearing anytime and which was a deciding factor behind the schedule. The other issues were the monsoon, festivals and school examinations, after examining which the available window was considered to be from May 20 onwards.
An informed source claimed that there was a possibility of another window in the last week of May, but the focus is to complete the poll process before that.
