The Karnataka assembly elections are scheduled to take place on May 10th, with results for all 224 seats being announced on May 13th. The BJP is aiming to regain power in the state, while its challengers in the opposition- Congress and JD(S)- are also gearing up for the elections and vying to form the government.
The electoral battle in the state is set to be an interesting one, with several VIP constituencies up for grabs. Many senior political leaders have fielded their family members as candidates for key seats. It is worth noting which of these constituencies are significant in Karnataka politics.
Here are some of the most important constituencies of Karnataka Elections 2023:
Shiggaon, Dist- Haveri
Basavaraj Bommai, the current Chief Minister of Karnataka, will be contesting from the Shiggaon constituency in Haveri district as the BJP candidate. His opponent from Congress is Yasir Ahmed Khan. The electoral battle between the two candidates will be crucial to watch. In the 2018 assembly elections, Basavaraj Bommai emerged victorious in this constituency, securing 83,868 votes, while Congress candidate Syed Azimpir Khadri received 37,819 votes.
Varuna, Dist- Mysore
This constituency is considered to be the bastion of Congress veteran Siddaramaiah, who nominated his son Yatindra from this seat in the 2018 elections. However, for the upcoming elections, only Siddaramaiah has been fielded by Congress. The BJP has nominated Minister V. Somanna to contest from this seat. In the previous elections, Congress candidate Yathindra S emerged victorious with 96,435 votes, while BJP candidate Thotdappa Basavaraju secured 37,819 votes.
Hubballi-Dharwad Central, Dist- Dharwad
All eyes are fixated on this constituency as BJP rebel and former CM Jagadish Shettar contests poll from this seat on Congress ticket. Jagdish Shettar has emerged victorious in the last four elections, with no Congress candidate succeeding in defeating him from 1999 to 2018. His winning margins in these elections were 25,000, 26,000, 17,000, and 21,000 votes respectively. Jagdish Shettar from the Congress, Mahesh Tenginakai from the BJP and Siddalingeshwar Gowda Mahanta Wodeyar from the JDS are the candidates for the Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency.
Chittapur, Dist- Kalaburgi
Priyank Kharge, son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, has been nominated from the Chittapur constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. BJP's Manikanta Rathod is also in the fray for this seat. In the 2018 elections, Priyank Kharge won this seat by securing 69,700 votes. This seat has been one of the most talked-about seats after the Congress accused the BJP candidate Manikanta Rathod of conspiring to kill Congress President and his family, citing a viral audio of phone conversation.
Thirthahalli, Dist- Shimoga
Karnataka's Home Minister, Araga Gyanendra, is contesting the election from this seat. Congress has fielded Kimmane Ratnakar as their candidate. Araga Gyanendra won this seat in the 2018 elections with 67,527 votes.
Kanakapura, Dist- Ramanagara
The state president of Congress, DK Shivakumar, has made this place a topic of discussion. He has won this seat seven times, and Congress has once again nominated him for this seat. In the 2018 elections, DK Shivakumar secured a win with 127,552 votes, while the JDS candidate Narayan Gowda, who contested against him, managed to secure only 47,643 votes.
Pulakeshinagar, Dist- Bengaluru Urban
During the 2018 elections, this seat recorded the highest margin of victory. Akhand Srinivasa Murthy, who represented Congress, secured an overwhelming 97,574 votes, while his closest rival, JDS candidate SB Prasanna Kumar, managed to secure only 15,948 votes. This resulted in a massive margin of 81,626 votes between the two candidates.
