Karnataka Election 2023: Learn About The Key Constituencies As The Battle For Supremacy Heats Up

Karnataka Election 2023: Now that BJP, Congress, and JD(S) have released the names of quite a few candidates, we take a look at the Battle Royales that are expected to play out on May 10.

From left: BJP's R Ashoka will go up against state Congress president DK Shivakumar in Kanakpura, while BJP's V Somanna will take on Congress's Siddaramaiah in Varuna. ( Image Source :PTI, Facebook )

The Karnataka elections 2023 cauldron is on the boil now, with the BJP on Tuesday announcing its candidates for the polls. The saffron party is facing some severe opposition from its own workers and leaders after it denied tickets to heavyweights in favour of fresh faces. The saffron party, while announcing the first list of 189 candidates on Tuesday, said it was a "carefully crafted list" to strike a balance between "experience and new vigour".

Earlier this month, Congress released its second list of candidates for the Karnataka elections 2023. So far, the Grand Old Party has released 166 names. The other key party in the polls, the JD(S), has released the names of 93 candidates now.

The high-octane Karnataka electoral battle is sure to hold the country's attention in the days to come as the candidates fight it out, not just with their opponents, but also with party colleagues vying for tickets. Here is a list of the key constituencies that you need to keep an eye on as the election to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly draws closer:

VARUNA

The Varuna constituency will see a mega showdown between two heavyweights, both with a large Lingayat support base — Congress's Siddaramaiah and BJP's V Somanna. While Siddaramaiah, a favourite for the CM's post, will hope to retain his Lingayat voter base in the Mysuru region, Somanna will also play to his appeal within the Lingayat mutts. 

What can hurt Siddaramaiah is the fact that Somanna is considered to be a bridge between the Vokkaligas and Lingayats, and as such, he enjoys the support of both communities. However, Siddaramaiah's ace up the sleeve is that he can leverage his son Yathindra's image, too. Yathindra, who is known as 'the doctor', is a household name in Varuna. It remains to be seen whether Karnataka's Housing and Minister for Infrastructure and Development Somanna can pierce the Siddaramaiah bastion this year.

The JD(S) candidate Abhishek S Manegar is not too keen on taking on the heavyweights and is likely to withdraw his nomination. The party said that a new candidate for Varuna will be announced soon.

KANAKPURA

Another high-profile fight will be between Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar and state Revenue Minister R Ashoka. Kanakpura, a stronghold of Shivakumar, has been with the Congress leader since 2008. Ashoka, a prominent Vokkaliga face in the BJP, has been moved from the Padmanabhanagar constituency to fight Shivakumar in Kanakpura.

Shivakumar, who made a name for himself as an alternative to Deve Gowda, is an extremely active leader who enjoys a mass appeal due to his mobilisation efforts over various issues against the BJP government. He has also been frequenting Vokkaliga and Lingayat events. He played a major role in garnering support for Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka.

However, R Ashoka is likely to give Shivakumar a run for his money. The 65-year-old leader has carefully crafted his image as the tallest Vokkaliga leader in the party. A quick learner, Ashoka rose to become the deputy CM in the Yediyurappa Cabinet when the BJP formed its first full-majority Karnataka government in 2008. He set the record for the biggest electoral victory from the largest constituency when he won the erstwhile Uttarhali seat in 2004 by over 84,000 votes.

The JD(S) is yet to name a candidate to contest the Kanakpura seat.

CHANNAPATNA

The Channapattana Assembly seat is currently held by JD(S) chief and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. While the JD(S) is unlikely to rake in the numbers for a majority government, it can turn out to be the kingmaker as it has been on a few occasions in the past. The Channapattana seat will be a prestige battle for Kumaraswamy, who has remained unbeaten since 2004.

While the Congress is yet to announce a candidate for the seat, the BJP has pitted former tourism minister CP Yogeshwara against Kumaraswamy. Yogeshwara enjoys a mass appeal, courtesy of his profession as an actor and director known for delivering hits like 'Uttara Dhruvadim Dakshina Druvaku', Sainika, and Badhri.

Yogeshwara, a strong Vokkaliga leader, hopes to wrest the traditional Vokkaliga voter base from Kumaraswamy.

SHIGGAON

A seat that the Congress desperately wants to wrest from the BJP is Shiggaon. The significance of this seat is in its key contestant — Basavaraj Bommai, the Chief Minister of Karnataka. CM Bommai's image has taken a hit after he took over as the CM. Known to be a soft-spoken leader with a clean record, Bommai has been bombarded with allegations of mismanagement and corruption since he assumed office two years ago. This has led to a sense of incumbency in Karnataka.

Congress will be looking to make a dent in the BJP by cashing in on this sense of anti-incumbency and prying away the seat to claim a strategic victory. Congress was reportedly deliberating on its Panchmasali Lingayat leader Vinay Kulkarni to lead the charge in this constituency but asked him to contest the Dharwad (Rural) seat later. It remains to be seen whether Congress goes with Ajjampeer Khadri, who had lost to Bommai last time or pits a Lingayat leader against the CM. The JD(S), too, is yet to announce a candidate for the seat.

SHIKARIPURIA

This constituency is a stronghold of former CM BS Yediyurappa, who has announced his retirement from electoral politics. The seat will now be contested by his son BY Vijayendra, the vice president of the Karnataka BJP. Vijayendra will hope to continue his father's legacy on this seat, which was won seven times since 1983 by  Yediyurappa.

Coming from a family of politicians (his brother BY Raghavendra is a Lok Sabha MP from Shivamogga), Vijayendra made his mark in politics when he orchestrated a win for the BJP in the Vokkaliga-dominated JD(S) bastion — Krishnaraja Pete (KR Pete) constituency — in the 2019 byelection. With a Lingayat background, Vijayendra managed to shed the tag and connected to the people on the ground to snatch the constituency. His second feat came the next year when he orchestrated another near-impossible win for the BJP in the Sira bypoll. The win was particularly significant as BJP had never tasted victory in the constituency, which had traditionally voted for either the Congress or the JD(S).

Having orchestrated such difficult wins for his BJP colleagues, his father's stronghold should be relatively easy for Vijayendra. But it remains to be seen whom the Congress and the JD(S) field against this formidable opponent.

CHIKMAGALURU

This is the traditional seat of BJP national general secretary CT Ravi, who has been winning this constituency since 2004. The Congress has come second in three of the four elections since 2004 and every time, it has fielded a different candidate against CT Ravi but has failed to defeat him. In the 2018 election, he defeated Congress's B L Shankar by a margin of over 26,000 votes. 

While the JD(S) has fielded BM Thimma Shetty, who fought the last election as an independent candidate, Congress will have a tough job choosing their candidate for the seat this year.