Karnataka election 2023: Check out list of key candidates

General Elections to the the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka will be held on May 10, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced, adding that the counting of votes will take place on May 13.

According to chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, the state will see a single-phase polling in its 224 assemblies. It is the only BJP-led state in the south and 119 members in the assembly, followed by 73 from Congress and 28 from JD(S) in the current term.

Also read: Poll panel flags urban apathy ahead of Karnataka elections: ‘cause of concern’

Here are some key candidates of the Karnataka assembly election 2023:

Basavaraj Bommai

Incumbent chief minister of Karnataka Basavraj Bommai took office in July 2021 and has been enjoying support from his predecessor BS Yediyurappa. He started his career with Janata Dal and was earlier the minister of home affairs, co-operation, law and justice parliamentary affairs and legislatures. He is popularly know as ‘common man’, a colloquial identity given for CM.

BS Yediyurappa

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa was key player in BJP’s victory in the state in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

HD Kumaraswamy

Kumaraswamy is the son of former Karnataka chief minister HD Deve Gowda. The Janata Dal (Secular) party leader formed an alliance with the Congress in the 2018 assembly election and became the chief minister of the state. However, he had resign after 14 months upon revolt from his own party MLAs.

Siddaramaiah

He is the senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Karnataka between 2013 and 2018. Known for some significant social welfare schemes in the state such as Ksheera Bhagya, Anna Bhagya and Indira Canteen, Siddaramaiah faced defeat to BJP in 2018 elections.

Prajwal Revanna

Grandson of HD Deve Gowda, Prajwal Revanna is a young leader from JD(S) who is also seen as a rising star of the party. He won from Hassan constituency in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

CT Ravi

Former minister of Karnataka and senior BJP leader CT Ravi is known for his agressive way of politics. He enjoys strong support from the state’s coastal districts.

DK Shivakumar

Senior Congress leader and president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, DK Shivakumar is known as a strong organiser has played key role in his party’s success in the past, with the recent being the Bharat Jodo Yatra.