With the run-up to the Karnataka elections seeing prominent defections, several wounded egos, and marked political rivalries, there are many leaders who have a lot at stake in Saturday's poll results. Here are the five whose political fortunes rest on them: Basavaraj Bommai, 63, BJP In the past two Karnataka Assembly elections, the BJP fought under the leadership of former CM and its veteran stalwart B S Yediyurappa. But Yediyurappa was forced to make way for Bommai as CM mid-way through his term by the BJP high command, which later also made it clear that he would not be given a ticket. Bommai entered the election with the baggage of Yediyurappa's still-substantial weight bearing down on him. Conscious of the fact, the BJP did not specifically name Bommai – who was little known before plonked into the CM chair - as its CM face. Instetad, it kept repeating a mantra of “combined leadership”, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the other half. Sources said that while the BJP leadership, which has been seeking a passing of the baton from its old party structure in Karnataka, initially hoped to project Bommai as its new Lingayat face in place of Yediyurappa, things did not go according to plan. Hence, Bommai was hardly a presence in the BJP's campaign, with Modi the face. What happens next for Bommai depends as much on him winning his Shiggaon seat, as well as how the BJP fares in his native Kittur Karnataka or Mumbai Karnataka region. Bommai campaigned extensively in the segment to ensure that the BJP repeated its 2018 performance in the region. Bommai might also be at the receiving end of some amount of Lingayat backlash expected against the BJP, over both Yediyurappa's sidelining and the exit from the party of prominent Lingayat leaders hailing from Kittur Karnataka like him - Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi. Siddaramaiah, 75, Congress The Siddaramaiah-D K Shivakumar rivalry is the stuff Congress party is made of. If the party does pull off a win on Saturday, Siddaramaiah, a former CM, would expect the high command to put him before Shivakumar for the CM berth. Where Siddaramaiah has an edge over Shivakumar is that he is considered among the last “mass leaders” of Karnataka, and is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly. His five-year stint in power at the head of a Congress government between 2013 and 2018 was only the second time that a Karnataka CM completed his full term, after D Devaraj Urs. What is considered a drawback for Siddaramaiah versus Shivakumar is that he is a former JD(S) leader, who joined the Congress only in 2006 - a fact that party rivals are quick to underline. But the Congress will bear in mind that Siddaramaiah's popularity runs across all groups, especially backward communities and minorities, popularly referred to together as AHINDA in Kannada. Ironically, then, there was confusion over Siddaramaiah's seat till the last. While he had made known his preference for Kolar, or for contesting from both there and Varuna, the Congress eventually forced him to pick one and to pick Varuna. While Varuna is Siddaramaiah's old seat, he had vacated it for his son last time, who had gone on to win. Siddaramaiah held little bargaining power though given the fact that in 2018, when he contested from both Chamundeshwari and Badami, he lost from first and won the latter only narrowly. However, even in Varuna, Siddaramaiah is facing a tough contest from BJP minister V Somanna this time. D K Shivakumar, 60, Congress The Karnataka Congress president is among the front-runners for the chief ministerial post if the Congress is voted to power in the state. A leader of the state's second-most dominant community, the Vokkaligas, Shivakumar has proved his worth to the party by coming to its rescue during political crises elsewhere – hosting Congress MLAs whenever it needed to retain numbers. In Karnataka, Shivakumar ensured that the Congress began its campaign against the BJP government well ahead of elections and that neither did it go off-track nor lose steam nearer to polls, as the party is often known to do. Shivakumar concentrated his own efforts in the Vokkaliga-dominated old Mysuru region, letting it be known that voters had a chance to “elect a CM”, and telling people to help him become one just as they had done for previous CMs such as H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S). A seven-time MLA from Kanakapura, Shivakumar is seeking election for the eighth time from there. The BJP tried to keep him in check by fielding its big Vokkaliga face and minister R Ashoka against him, though few expect Shivakumar to face any real threat. However, even if the Congress wins and forms the government, Shivakumar's troubles might not be over, with a sword hanging over him in the form of cases by Central agencies such as the CBI and Income Tax. He was arrested by Enforcement Directorate officials in September 2019, and released on bail a month later. H D Kumaraswamy, 63, JD(S) Having served as CM in two coalition governments, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's best hope is a fractured verdict again, leaving him in the position of either king or kingmaker. Kumaraswamy was CM first between 2006 and 2007, with the BJP, and then from 2018 and 2019, with the Congress. It is expected to be the last election in which Kumaraswamy's father and former PM H D Deve Gowda, who is ailing and 90 but remains hugely popular, is campaigning for the party. And hence how the JD(S) performs could either ease Kumaraswamy's way in the family-dominated party or make it tougher. Kumaraswamy has been claiming – rather too ambitiously – that the JD(S) would not just win Old Mysuru, where it is dominant, but all over, and get 120 seats. It won 37 seats in 2018. However, party sources are more realistic about their chances in private, and say the JD(S) would be ready to enter a pact with either side to form the government if there is a hung Assembly. Kumaraswamy shouldered the burden of the JD(S) campaign almost single-handedly, canvassing extensively in Old Mysuru and parts of North Karnataka, where his party has a presence. In Vokkaliga-dominated districts, Kumaraswamy held multiple rallies and corner meetings during his Pancharatna Yatra that kicked off in November 2022. He is himself contesting from Channapatna constituency in Ramanagara district. Jagadish Shettar, 67, Congress Having left his long-time party BJP for the Congress just ahead of the polls, former CM Jagadish Shettar has the biggest axe to grind of these elections. Shettar left after the BJP refused to give him a ticket again from his Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency. Questioning this, Shettar left the party, slamming the high command for trying to sideline leaders like him who had given more than three decades to the BJP. Earlier, Shettar, who was the CM from 2012 to 2013, was dropped from the Cabinet after Bommai replaced Yediyurappa. While a prominent Lingayat leader, Shettar is facing a tough contest from fellow community leader Mahesh Tenginakayi, who is general secretary of the BJP state unit. Should he win, Shettar would have the last laugh against the BJP leadership.
