Karnataka votes tomorrow: Fate of Tejasvi Surya, DK Suresh, Yaduveer Wadiyar to be sealed

The Congress and BJP will lock horns on the electoral battleground again, in less than a year, in Karnataka as the stage is set for voting in the first phase in 14 Lok Sabha seats. Experts foresee intense fight in seven seats -- Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Hassan, Mandya, and Mysore.

The fate of BJP's Tejsvi Surya, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh, and royal scion Yaduveer Wadiyar will be sealed in this phase. DK Suresh is the second richest candidate, while the Congress' Mandya candidate is the richest candidate in phase two with assets of over Rs 600 crore.  

Key seats	NDA	Congress
Bangalore Rural	C N Manjunath	D K Suresh
Bangalore North	Shobha Karandlaje	Rajeev Gowda
Bangalore Central	PC Mohan	Mansoor Ali Khan
Bangalore South	Tejasvi Surya	Soumya Reddy
Hassan	Prajwal Revanna	Shreyash Patel Gowda
Mandya	H D Kumaraswamy	Venkataramane Gowda
Mysore	Yaduveer Wadiyar	M Lakshman

 

This time it is more of an one-on-one contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) combine unlike in the assembly elections in May 2023, which witnessed a triangular faceoff among the three parties. Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will fight from three seats -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar. 

Heavyweights to watch

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy from Mandya, his brother-in-law and noted cardiologist C N Manjunath from Bangalore Rural (BJP), Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore (BJP), deputy CM D K Shivakumar's brother and MP D K Suresh (Congress) from Bangalore Rural, are among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase. 

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya will face minister Ramalinga Reddy's daughter Sowmya Reddy (Congress) in Bangalore South, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on BJP ticket will take on former IIM Bangalore professor M V Rajeev Gowda (Congress) in Bangalore North. 

Congress' performance especially in the first phase, which covers almost all Vokkaliga-dominated districts, is being seen as a big test Shivakumar. Stakes are also high for CM Siddaramaiah, as victory in particular in his home turf is seen as key for strengthening hands, said analysts. 

The task is cut out for Kumaraswamy to prove that the regional party is still a force to reckon with particularly in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru or South Karnataka region. Both Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy are Vokkaligas, and are engaged in a fierce turf war over their clout on the community. 

Ensuring a BJP sweep is paramount for B S Yediyurappa's son in order to consolidate his position and silence his critics. 

Congress is mostly banking on the implementation of its populist five guarantee schemes, while the BJP and JD(S) combine is leveraging the "Modi factor".

State to vote in two phases

The state has 28 Lok Sabha constituencies of which the remaining 14 seats will to voting on May 7. A total of 247 candidates -- 226 men and 21 women -- are in the fray in the first phase of polling, which will take place mostly in the southern and coastal districts.

More than 2.88 crore voters will exercise their franchise in 30,602 polling stations where polling will take place between 7 am to 6 pm.

Besides the three, the segments where elections will be held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur. 

Karnataka is the most important state for BJP in south India as it's only here that it had been power in the past. 

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said that 1.4 lakh polling officials will be on duty in the first phase. Besides, 5,000 micro-observers, 50,000 civil police personnel, 65 companies of central parliamentary force and state armed police force of other states will also be deployed for security. All the 2,829 polling stations of Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituency will be webcast, Meena said. 

Chikkaballapur has a maximum number of 29 candidates, followed by 24 in Bangalore Central, while Dakshina Kannada has the least number of candidates at nine. 

(With inputs from PTI)