Karnataka Assembly Elections: Here`s All About The 5 Key Constituencies

This is a stronghold of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who has announced his retirement from electoral politics. His son BY Vijayendra, the Karnataka BJP's vice president, will now run for the seat. Vijayendra hopes to carry on his father's legacy in this seat, which Yediyurappa has won seven times since 1983.

Shiggaon is a seat that the Congress is keen to regain from the BJP. This seat is significant because of its primary contestant, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. After taking over as CM, CM Bommai's image suffered. Bommai, a soft-spoken leader with a spotless record, has been dogged by suspicions of incompetence and corruption since taking office two years ago. This has created a feeling of incumbency in Karnataka.

The JD(S) chief and former Karnataka Chief Minister, presently holds the Channapattana Assembly seat. While the JD(S) is unlikely to form a majority government, it has the potential to be the deciding factor on several occasions in the past. Kumaraswamy, who has been unblemished since 2004, will face a prestige battle in Channapattana.

Another high-profile battle will take place between Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar and state Revenue Minister R Ashoka. Kanakpura, a Shivakumar stronghold, has been with the Congress leader since 2008. Ashoka, a well-known Vokkaliga face in the BJP, has been transferred from Padmanabhanagar to challenge Shivakumar in Kanakpura.

The Varuna constituency will see a huge clash between two heavyweights, both of whom have a large Lingayat support base - Congress' Siddaramaiah and BJP's V Somanna. While Siddaramaiah, a favourite for the CM post, will try to keep his Lingayat voter base in Mysuru, Somanna will also try to appeal to Lingayat mutts.