The electoral fate of 247 candidates, which includes 226 men and 21 women, will be sealed on Friday as 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka go to polls as 2.88 crore voters will exercise their franchise. The rest of the seats go to polls on May 7. The main contest is between the ruling Congress party in the state and the BJP-JDS-led NDA alliance, with a number of independent candidates trying their luck.

BJP will be defending 12 of the 14 seats going for polls, with Congress and JDS - now an ally of the saffron party - having won one seat each in the last polls. Karnataka is crucial for both the parties as BJP has it as its entrepot to South India. They want to do well here to counter accusations of it being primarily a North and West India force. For Congress, Karnataka is one of the few states where it rules and will be hoping that its outcome would boost their national ambitions.

All the 14 seats which go to polls are in the Southern and Coastal part of the state. The BJP, which won a record 25 of the 28 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, apart from supporting another winning independent candidate, is hoping to repeat its previous performance. Congress, which last time won just one seat, is rejuvenated by its performance in the assembly polls where it swept 136 of the 224 assembly seats and looks to replicate its success.

BJP while strong in the coastal and northern parts of the state has been traditionally weak in the Southern parts outside of Bengaluru. Which is why it has tied up with the regional Janata Dal (Secular) which has historically been a key player here. For Congress the outcome of the polls will not only shape its national ambitions but could also have an impact on the functioning and longevity of the state government.

Some of the key contestants from BJP include Union Minister Shobha Karndlaje, Tejasvi Surya - the party’s upcoming star, Yaduveer Wadiyar of the Mysuru royal family and Dr CN Manjunath, the son-in-law of former PM Deve Gowda, who is contesting on the Lotus symbol.

Congress stalwarts whose fates will be sealed include Prof Rajeev Gowda from Bengaluru North, DK Suresh, brother of Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who is contesting from Bengaluru Rural, and Mansoor Ali Khan, the lone Muslim candidate fielded by the party in the state from Bengaluru Central. JDS chief Kumaraswamy, along with his nephew Prajwal Revanna, are also trying their luck at the hustings.

State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said about 1.4 lakh officials will be on duty to ensure free and fair polls in the first phase. Voters will exercise their franchise in 30,000 plus polling booths.

While both key players have naturally expressed confidence in a good show, political analyst Sandeep Shastri commented that while the BJP stranglehold is likely to continue in Bengaluru, in other parts, however, “It’s a very tough fight for the BJP as they are facing both internal challenges plus very stiff competition from the Congress.”

He said on the likely voter turnout, “I think it will be like the first round. It will be more or less like the last time voter turnout. The BJP is very clearly seeking votes in the Prime Minister’s name under his leadership because that’s one good way to camouflage all the challenges that they are facing. On the other hand, the Congress is focusing on its five guarantees on very local issues. So again, it’s a fight between a national narrative on the one hand and the intensely local narrative on the other,” he added.

(inputs from BL Intern Vidushi Nautiyal)