Karnataka Assembly Election 2018: Crucial Seats That Hold The Key To Win Battle Of Karnataka

New Delhi: Karnataka - a key state and one of the last bastion of the Congress party that witnessed bitter political campaign amid allegations and counter-allegations of corruption and communalism will cast its vote on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the face of the BJP's campaign in Karnataka, the only southern state where the party has been able to form a government. For Congress it was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and its president Rahul Gandhi who led the charge. 

Though development remained part of the political discourse, it was overtaken by a match between the two parties over corruption. PM Modi repeatedly addressed the Siddaramaiah government as "seedha rupaiah government (a government that takes bribes for work) and "10 per cent commission government". Provoked, Siddaramaiah first called the Modi dispensation a "90 per cent commission government" and then served legal notices to PM Modi and BJP chief Shah, demanding an apology and threatening to file Rs 100 crore civil and criminal defamation suit if they did not tender it.

PM Modi and Mr Shah also raised the issue of killing of RSS and BJP workers allegedly by SDPI, an Islamist political party floated by the Popular Front of India, which the prime minister said was the "abc of communalism".

Here are the crucial seats that hold the key to the battle of Karnataka Election 2018:

The key constituencies will see a fierce face-off between Congress and BJP candidates. Some of the constituencies will also see a tough and neck and neck competition between the candidates. It will also be imperative for both the parties to retain some of the seats which have been their bastion for a long period of time.

Badami -  Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will face BJP parliamentarian B Sriramulu, a key aide of the mining-millionaire Reddy brothers, in Karnataka's Badami on the May 12 election. Badami in north Karnataka's Bagalkot district is Siddaramaiah's "Plan B" seat after Chamundeshwari, where he has won five times and lost twice. He had reportedly asked the Congress for a safe seat as a backup to Chamundeshwari, where he expects a tough fight. But with Sriramulu, the chief minister has been forced into a second high-stakes battle. Badami is a stronghold of the chief minister's Kuruba community. The constituency has 2.5 lakh voters - 55,000 from the Kuruba community and the rest from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and 25,000 are Muslim. Sriramulu is believed to be highly influential with Scheduled Tribe voters.

Hubbali Dharawad Central - Jagadish Shettar, leader of opposition and former chief minister from will contest the Karnataka election 2018 from the Hubbali Central seat in Dharawad district for sixth time. The assembly constituency in north Karnataka - a BJP stronghold - is believed to witness a fierce fight with Congress nominating Mahesh Nalawad. Mr Shettar, a lawyer-turned politician belongs to the powerful Lingayat community, seen as a traditional BJP vote bank. However, a relatively unknown face, the Congress candidate is a doctor and also a Lingayat, whose support the party expects after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recommended to the centre to grant religious minority status to community. There were many heavy-weight contenders for a Congress ticket to this assembly constituency with reports saying the party had received highest number of requests for this seat. The JD(S) has filled Mallikarjun Koravi from this seat, who may change some equations.

Bellary City - Mining baron G Somashekara Reddy, one of the famous Reddy brothers involved in illegal mining scam will be fighting the Karnataka Assembly Polls 2018 from Bellary City on a BJP ticket. The BJP has been facing intense criticism from the Congress since it named Gali Somashekhara Reddy in its second list on April 17. The BJP has defended the move as a "compromise", claiming they are the party's best chances for a victory in the area. During campaign controversy erupted after PM Modi shared stage with G Somashekhara Reddy at the District Stadium before hundreds of supporters. The Reddy brothers represent a chunk of corruption allegations that mushroomed during the BJP government led by BS Yeddyurappa. Gali Somasekhara Reddy is accused of bribing a judge in the cash-for bail case that involved Janardhan Reddy. The Congress has fielded sitting MLA and mining baron Anil H Lad from the seat to take on the Reddy brother. Mr Lad has also been accused in a iron export scam case and was arrested by the CBI in 2015 for questioning.

Shikaripura - BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is fighting the battle to return to power from his traditional Shikaripura constituency. Shikaripura in Shivamogga district had been Mr Yeddyurappa's constituency since 1983 from where he had got elected seven times and lost once. Following his election to Parliament in 2014, his son BY Raghavendra who won the subsequent by-polls was representing the constituency in the assembly. Shikaripura which has a strong Lingayat presence is seen as an one-sided fight for the 75-year-old BJP leader. The Congress has fielded local panchayat leader Goni Malthesh to fight the heavyweight. Mr Malthesh belongs to the Kruba community to which chief minister Siddaramaiah belongs too. JD-S on the other hand named H Balegar for the fight, who is seen as the main challenger to Mr Yeddyurappa. However, Mr Balegar had lost the 2013 elections by over 50,000 votes to the BJP heavyweight.

Ramanagara - Former Karnataka chief minister and JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy is fighting the Karnataka elections 2018 from the Ramanagara constituency. Mr Kumaraswamy has won from the seat thrice. The constituency has a sizeable Muslim population and is dominated by the Vokkaliga community, seen as a natural JD-S ally and the most influential group in the state after the Lingayats. Ramanagara, located about 50 km from state capital Bengaluru, assumes significance with reports of "secret pact" between Mr Kumaraswamy and Congress heavyweight D K Shivakumar, two Vokkaliga strongmen. While, JD-S has fielded a not so "strong" candidate from Mr Shivakumar's constituency Kanakpura in the district, Congress returned the favour by fielding a zila panchayat head relatively. The Ramanagara has sent three chief minister to rule the state including Mr Kumaraswamy and his father HD Devegowda.