Bengaluru: The battle for the hearts and minds of Kannadigas is all set to begin on Thursday in 14 of the 28 constituencies in the state with a former prime minister, his two grandsons, two former chief ministers, a Union minister and a former Union minister among the 241 candidates in the fray.
A tough contest is expected in many constituencies with the Congress-JD (S) coalition teaming up for the first time to checkmate the BJP.
Most of the constituencies going to the polls in the first phase, are in Old Mysuru and a few in the coastal region, with stakes high for the alliance partners as an adverse result could impact the longevity of the coalition government.
On the other hand, the BJP is determined to improve its tally compared to previous polls, riding on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of the 14 seats, the BJP and Congress had won six each, and two were held by JD (S) in general elections held in 2014.
In another first, the BJP has decided to support independent Mrs Sumalatha Ambareesh, in an effort to spoil the party for JD (S) leaders who have fielded Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in Mandya, the hotbed of Vokkaliga politics. This constituency witnessed a high decibel campaign with Mr Deve Gowda and Mr Kumaraswamy pulling out all the stops to facilitate a successful debut for Nikhil while his opponent Mrs Sumalatha played the card of 'daughter-in-law of Mandya' and roped in a number of popular actors to drum up support for her. Besides, a number of former legislators and discontented Congress leaders and Karnataka State Farmers Association have joined the campaign in support of the widow of the late actor-politician Ambareesh.
On Thursday, the spotlight would also be on Tumakuru, where JD (S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda, will face the battle of ballots for the first time after vacating Hassan Lok Sabha seat from where he was contesting since 1990s, for his grandson, Prajwal Revanna, son of PWD minister H.D. Revanna. The battle for three constituencies in Bangalore (North, South and central) is also interesting as there is a direct contest between the Congress and BJP, which has a strong support base in these urban seats.
Other key seats are Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur, where the Congress-JD(S) combine is hoping to dent the BJP's continued dominance, taking advantage of the anti-incumbency factor against Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shobha Karandlaje respectively, who are seeking re-election. The BJP has set a target of winning 22 out of total 28 seats in the state.
Strategists belonging to Congress-JD (S) combine claim that phase I could throw up many surprises with candidates of the alliance set to upset the calculations of leaders of the state unit of BJP.
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