April 20 was the last day of nominations for the Karnataka Assembly elections, which will be held on May 10. The counting of votes will be held on May 13. Several high-profile leaders filed their nominations for the high-stake polls that will see them fight tight battles with candidates of rival parties. Here is a list of top leaders from the BJP, Congress and JD(S) who have filed their nominations.
Basavaraj Bommai | Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai filed his nomination from his traditional seat of Shiggaon in Haveri district. He was accompanied by BJP national president J P Nadda and Kannada film star Sudeep. Bommai is seeking re-election from Shiggaon, from where he has been an MLA three times since 2008. He had already filed one set of nominations during an "auspicious muhurat" on April 15. He is fighting against Congress’s Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan in a high-stakes battle. Congress had earlier named Mohammed Yousuf Savanur for the seat. (Image: PTI)
Siddaramaiah | The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from Varuna. He reiterated that this would be his last election. His son Yathindra Siddaramaiah is the sitting Congress MLA from Varuna. Siddaramaiah, a 75-year-old eight-time MLA, had earlier won twice from Varuna, gone on to become the Leader of Opposition after winning from here in 2008, and then became Chief Minister after the 2013 Assembly polls. Siddaramaiah is pitted against Abhishek of JD(S) and key BJP leader V Somanna. (Image: PTI)
DK Shivakumar | Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar filed his nomination from the Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara district on April 17. Shivakumar won the seat in the 2018 elections by defeating JD(S) candidate by 79,909 votes. Senior BJP leader R Ashoka will fight against Shivakumar in this constituency, making it a tough battle. (Image: PTI)
Jagadish Shettar | Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently joined the Congress, quitting the BJP over being passed over for a ticket from Hubballi-Dharwad-Central, filed papers from the constituency. His opponent and BJP state general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai also filed his nomination. (Image: PTI)
BY Vijayendra | Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s son and state BJP vice president BY Vijayendra filed his nomination from the Shikaripura seat in Shivamogga district. Vijayendra accompanied by Yediyurappa held a road show and addressed a public meeting before filing his papers. Vijayendra will fight Congress’s GB Malatesh. Earlier, denied a ticket to contest the seat, Nagaraja Gowda had quit Congress and is reportedly planning to field himself as an independent. (Image: Twitter)
G Parameshwara | Senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara filed his papers from his traditional seat of Koratagere in Tumakuru district, after holding a road show accompanied by a large number of supporters. He will have to fight BJP’s BH Anil Kumar, a retired IAS officer. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Laxman Sangappa Savadi | Former deputy chief minister Laxman Sangappa Savadi, who quit BJP over denial of a ticket, has filed his nomination papers from the Athani assembly constituency in Belagavi district as a Congress candidate. BJP has pitted Mahesh Kumathalli against Savadi. Kumathalli had won the constituency in the 2018 assembly elections as a Congress candidate and in the 2019 bypolls, as a BJP candidate, after he along with other Congress MLAs jumped ship, bringing down the Congress-JD(S) government in the state. (Image: PTI)
HD Kumaraswamy | JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy held a massive roadshow with drum beats and flag waving on his way to file nominations from the constituency of Channapatna. The son of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda has a tough task at hand, facing BJP’s CP Yogeshwara who had won the constituency in 1999, 2011 and 2013 on a BJP ticket and in 2004 and 2008 as a Congress candidate. His son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is fighting the elections from the neighbouring Ramanagara, the bastion of the JD(S), where he faces Congress’s Iqbal Hussain HA, BJP’s Goutham Gowda and AAP’s Nanjappa Kalegowda. (Image: PTI)