The Indian state of Karnataka is set to hold Assembly elections on May 10, with a record number of candidates filing nominations. On the penultimate day of nomination filing, 935 candidates submitted their papers, including Siddaramaiah from Varuna, Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dharwad Central, and Chief Minister Bommai from Shiggaon. The Congress party has released its list of star campaigners, which includes former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who joined the Congress this week, but does not feature Sachin Pilot due to his feud with Ashok Gehlot. The list of 40-star campaigners also includes party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Shashi Tharoor. BJP’s star campaigner list, meanwhile, includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Devendra Fadnavis, Smriti Irani, and Nirmala Sitharaman. South Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya, who is known for his strong Hindutva politics, was omitted from the list, causing surprise among party members. The BJP has also released its fourth list of candidates, naming Channabasappa for the Shivamogga constituency and Manvi for the Manvi constituency. With their final list, both BJP and Congress have announced candidates for all the 224 Assembly segments in the state.
