Karnataka Election: Bommai To Contest From Shiggaon, Yediyurappa's Son From Shikaripura - Key Candidates

BJP Candidates List: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will contest the polls from the Shiggaon Assembly seat.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its first list of 189 candidates. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will contest the Shiggaon Assembly seat and national general secretary of BJP CT Ravi will fight for the Chikmagluru seat. The announcement comes after the party's Central Election Committee and Parliamentary Board meeting concluded on Sunday and then again deliberated over certain names on Monday.

According to the list, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will contest the polls from the Shiggaon Assembly seat, former chief minister Yediyurappa's son Vijendran will contest from the Shikarpur Assembly seat, and CT Ravi will contest from Chikmagalur.

There are 52 fresh candidates in BJP's first list for the Karnataka election. As many as 32 OBC candidates, 30 SC candidates, and 16 ST candidates, were given tickets. "There are doctors, IPS and IAS officers, 31 PG candidates, and eight women. There are five advocates, nine doctors, three academicians, two retired IAS and IPS officers, three retired government employees, and eight social workers in this list," said BJP's national general secretary Arun Singh.

Here is a list of heavyweights fielded by the BJP to take on Congress and others:

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai - Shiggaon seat

BS Vijayendra- Shikaripura seat

CT Ravi- Chikmagalur seat

Ramesh Jarkiholi- Gokak

State Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K - Chikkaballapur seat

Dr Ashwathnarayan CN - Malleshwaram seat 

R Ashoka to contest from 2 seats- Padmanabhanagar and Kanakapura

V Somanna - Chamarajanagar seat and Varuna seat

B Sriramulu - Bellary Rural seat

The party's core group had shortlisted three names for each Assembly seat which was placed before the CEC after which the party's central leadership brainstormed over these names before locking the candidates.

The state will go to polls on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13. The term of the current Karnataka Legislative Assembly is set to end on May 24 this year.