Congress releases list of 11 candidates for Karnataka elections, Siddaramaiah to contest from Badami, Chamundeshwari

Last week, the grand old party had released its first list of 218 candidates. The latest list was released by AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday announced a list of 11 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections 2018. The list was released by AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik.

The Central Election Committee of @INCIndia has selected the following members as Congress candidates for ensuing Karnataka Assembly Elections. #INC4Karnataka pic.twitter.com/Cb6OtgWLXL — Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 22, 2018

Last week, the grand old party had released its first list of 218 candidates. While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will contest from two constituencies - Chamundeshwari and Badami, his son Dr Yatheendra will contest from Varuna constituency in upcoming Legislative Assembly polls.

With less than a month left for Karnataka to go to polls, both the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have entered a high-pitched battle on the ground and on social media.

Last week, the BJP had released its first list of 72 candidates following a meeting of the party's Central Election Committee. The committee had met at BJP's Headquarters in New Delhi with party President Amit Shah and committee members including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj present.

Karnataka polls are scheduled to be held in a single phase on May 12 and the counting of votes will be done on May 15. VVPAT machines, apart from EVMs, will be deployed in Karnataka for the polls.

The date of notification is April 17 and the last date to file nominations is April 24. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 25 and the last day for withdrawal is April 27.

The 224-member Assembly expires on May 28 in the state where the Congress is currently in power, with 122 seats against the BJP's 43. Karnataka is one of the eight states where polls were scheduled this year.

While Siddaramaiah-led Congress is eyeing a second term in the state, BJP wants to spread its wings to the 22nd state.