Karnataka elections key candidates: Karnataka is all set to witness an intense electoral battle as the state goes to polls on May 10. The 224-member Karnataka Assembly will see a triangular contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), the kingmakers in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections. The results for the Karnataka elections will be declared on May 13.
Here are the top 7 prominent candidates in the fray for the 2023 Karnataka elections:
Shiggaon Assembly seat: Basavaraj Bommai
BJP leader and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is eyeing a fourth term from the Shiggaon constituency. The 63-year-old MLA is the son of former Karnataka CM and Janata Parivar veteran late SR Bommai.
The CM won the Shiggaon seat in the 2018 Assembly elections by 9,260 votes. He started his political stint with the Janata Dal. He quit the Janata Dal (United) and joined the BJP in 2008 and was elected as an MLA from Shiggaon in the Assembly elections held that year.
He retained the seat in 2013 and 2018 polls. Bommai served as the Home Minister in the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government and was appointed the CM in 2021 after Yediyurappa stepped down from the post.
Shikarupura Assembly seat: B Y Vijayendra
BY Vijayendra, vice-president of the party’s state unit and son of former Chief Minister and BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa, is marking his entry into electoral politics from the seat vacated by his father. This is the first time in four decades that this high-profile constituency will be going to polls without Yediyurappa in the fray.
The Congress has fielded Goni Malatesh, who lost to Yediyurappa in the previous Assembly election (2018) by over 35,000 votes while S P Nagaraja Gowda, a Congress rebel, is contesting as an independent candidate. While Lingayat strongman and four-time Chief Minister Yediyurappa secured 86,983 votes in 2018, Malatesh polled 51,586 votes.
In July last year, Yediyurappa announced that he will not be contesting the 2023 Assembly polls and will be vacating his Shikaripura seat with Vijayendra as the candidate, if the high command agrees. Although there was speculation that Vijayendra may contest from Varuna against Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the father-son duo finally decided to stick with the traditional seat of Shikaripura.
Chittapur Assembly seat: Priyank Kharge
The prominent candidate from the Chittapur Assembly seat in Kalaburagi district is Priyank Kharge, who is seeking a third term from the constituency for the May 10 polls. The son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank is pitted against BJP candidate 29-year-old Manikanta Rathod, JD(S) candidate Subhash Chandra Rathod, Principal civil judge and a local court judge, who gave up his post to contest from the constituency.
The Congress leader is banking on the development works carried out by him in the constituency to win the elections.
Hubbali Dharwad (Central) Assembly seat: Jagadish Shettar
A long-time BJP leader with roots in the Sangh Parivar, Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress after being denied a ticket for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. In the last elections, Jagadish Shettar won the election defeating Congress’ Mahesh Nalwad by a margin of 21,306 votes. In the 2013 elections, he had won against Nalwad by a margin of 17,754 votes.
Given the Lingayat leader’s popularity, the Congress is hoping to secure its first win from the Lingayat dominant constituency, which was formed post delimitation in 2008.
The BJP has fielded Mahesh Tenginakayi, party state general secretary from the constituency, who will be fighting his maiden election.
Kanapura Assembly seat: DK Shivakumar
In fray from the Kanakapura Assembly seat is Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and the party’s possible chief ministerial candidate DK Shivakumar. He is pitted against BJP leader and revenue minister R Ashok from the seat. Ashok has also been the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. The Janata Dal (Secular) has fielded B Nagaraj from the seat.
A three-time MLA from the seat, Shivakumar’s winning margin has only increased each time he contested the elections.
Ahead of the filing of nominations, Shivakumar, who is accused in a disproportionate assets case, was worried that his nomination could have been rejected on legal grounds. As a backup option, his brother DK Suresh had also filed his papers from the same seat.
Varuna Assembly seat: Siddaramaiah
Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is another prominent candidate in the May 10 polls. Since the formation of the Varuna constituency (out of the Chamundeshwari segment) in 2008, Siddaramaiah has represented the constituency twice and his son Y Yathindra Siddaramaiah is the present MLA from the seat.
The former CM contested from the Chamundeshwari and Badami sears in the 2018 Assembly elections. While he lost to GT Devegowda of the JD(S) by a huge margin of 36,042 votes in Chamundeshewari, in Badami, Siddaramaiah won against BJP’s B Sriramulu by a margin of 1,696 votes.
Channapatna Assembly seat: HD Kumaraswamy
Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is contesting from the Chanapatna constituency from the Ramanagara district. The two-time CM has been elected as an MLA four times and twice as an MP.
While the BJP has fielded senior leader and Kannada film actor CP Yogeshwara, the Congress has fielded Gangadhar as its candidate.
Kumaraswamy faces a tough challenge from the BJP candidate who has been elected five times from the seat. In 2013, Yogeshwara defeated Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy from the Assembly seat, but was defeated by HD Kumaraswamy in the 2018 Assembly elections.