Karnataka Elections 2023: Key battlegrounds that will decide fate of Karnataka

Karnataka Elections 2023: According to the Election Commission, the Karnataka Assembly Elections are all set to take place on May 10, with vote counting taking place on May 13. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated last month that money power, in addition to urban and youth apathy, is a crucial issue in this electoral battle.

Both the big parties of the state, Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have already announced their manifestoes and their candidates. The result of the highly charged election will also be significant for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Here is a look at some of the key constituenciesfor the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023.

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Shiggaon

Current incumbent Chief Minister of the state, Basavaraj Bommai, won the Shiggaon constituency in 2018 with a margin of 9,265 votes and defeated the Congress rival Sayed Azeempeer Khadri. This was Bommai’s third win from the seat since 2008.

After initially nominating Mohammed Yousuf Savanur, president of Anjuman-e-Islam Hubballi-Dharwad, Congress replaced him with Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, a local in Shiggaon. Pathan however does not seem to have made any headlines in the recent past and information about him remains obscure.

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On April 19, Bommai began campaigning in his constituency and held a roadshow with BJP National President JP Nadda and Kannada film star Kichcha Sudeep. Addressing the crowd, Bommai said, “I have been blessed with your faith for 15 years. Our bond is divine. No one can come in the way of this. Till my last breath I will serve you.”

Chikkamagaluru

The former right-hand man of BJP heavyweight leader and national general secretary, CT Ravi, HD Thammaiah had quit the party and joined Congress in February 2023. He will now be going head-on against his former mentor CT Ravi from the Chikkamagaluru constituency.

In 2018, Ravi won the Chikkamagaluru seat with a margin of 26,314 votes, defeating Congress candidate BL Shankar and marking his fourth win from the seat.

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Thammaiah, while quitting BJP, had said, “I have been working in the BJP and had fulfilled my responsibilities in various posts since 2007, but the current political developments have disappointed me. As a result, I wish to resign from my post as convener of the district unit as well as a primary member of the BJP. I wish to express gratitude to all office bearers, heads and members of all boards, forums and units of the BJP, who helped me in my work for 17 years.”

Hubballi-Dharwad Central

Former Chief Minister and BJP party member, Jagadish Shettar also quit the party on April 16 and resigned as MLA, after being denied a ticket for the May 10 Assembly elections.

Shettar, who is responsible for the growth of the BJP in Uttara Kannada, then joined the Congress in the presence of the party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders.

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As a BJP candidate, Shettar had won from the Hubballi-Dharwad central seat in 2018, defeating Congress candidate Dr Mahesh Nalwad with a margin of 21,306 votes, marking his sixth win in the Assembly elections.

After Shettar’s crossover, Tenginkai said, “BJP wants the new generation to enter politics. I am confident of winning from Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat…Caste should not be an agenda in politics.” It remains to be seen whether Shettar’s popularity can be defeated or not in the constituency.

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