Third edition of Mangaluru kambla on Jan 25

Bengaluru: The Congress and BJP will lock horns on the electoral battleground again in less than a fortnight in Karnataka, as the stage is set for the second phase of elections in the 14 remaining Lok Sabha seats on Tuesday.

It is going to be a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Parliamentary segments in the northern districts. The JD(S) is not contesting in these seats and is supporting its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner -- the BJP.

The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling in 14 seats in most of the southern and coastal districts was held on April 26.

A total of 227 candidates -- 206 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for the second phase.

More than 2.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 28,269 polling stations where voting will take place between 7 am to 6 pm.

The segments where elections will be held on Tuesday are: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state then.

Having scored a thumping victory in the Assembly elections last year, the Congress now appears determined to put up a strong show.

Karnataka is the most important state for the BJP in south India as it's only here that it has held power in the past.

Speaking to PTI, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said adequate security arrangements have been made for Tuesday's polling.

"Around 1.45 lakh polling officials have been deployed across the 14 constituencies. In addition, 35,000 civil police personnel, 65 companies of Central Paramilitary forces and armed police of other states will be deployed for the polling day," he said.

Besides this, 4,000 micro-observers will also be on duty and 17,000 polling stations will be covered by webcasting, he added.

Davangere has the maximum number of 30 candidates, followed by 23 in Shimoga and Raichur has the least number - eight.

Former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and Jagadish Shettar (Balgaum), Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and Bhagwanth Khuba (Bidar) -- all from BJP; Congress' Geetha Shivrajkumar (Shimoga) -- wife of actor Shivrajkumar and daughter of former CM S Bangarappa and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani (Gulbarga), are among the prominent names in the fray.

Also in the contest are MP and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, suspended party leader and former Deputy CM K S Eshwarappa -- both from Shimoga, former Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and ex-Minister B Sreeramulu of BJP from Uttara Kannada and Bellary respectively and retired IAS officer G Kumar Naik of Congress from Raichur.

Stakes are high for several Ministers in this phase with their children in fray.

Sons of Ministers Laxmi Hebbalkar and Eshwar Khandre - Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar and Sagar Khandre - are contesting from Belgaum and Bidar respectively, while daughters of Ministers Satish Jarkiholi and Shivanand Patil -Priyanka Jarkiholi and Samyukta Patil- are in contention in Chikkodi and Bagalkot respectively.

Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S S Mallikarjun and daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is in the fray from Davangere.

The Congress' performance in the elections, especially in the second phase which covers almost all Lingayat-dominated districts, is crucial, as the party did not win one of them in 2019, and to also check whether the grand old party has managed to retain the support of a section of Lingayats -- considered as the BJP's core vote-base -- which seemed to have somewhat shifted towards it in the 2023 Assembly polls.

The Lok Sabha election is being seen as a big test of sorts for Congress state unit chief D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret of his ambition to become chief minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term. The stakes are also high for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as victory in this election is seen as key to strengthening his hands, analysts say.

It is also seen as a kind of a "litmus test" for state BJP president B Y Vijayendra, who has the onerous task of helping the party retain its supremacy in the Lok Sabha polls, by regaining its traditional Lingayat vote-base.

Ensuring a BJP sweep is paramount for the son of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa, to consolidate his position and silence critics who have questioned his selection to the post, overlooking seniors and seasoned hands.

The ruling Congress is mostly banking on the implementation of its populist five guarantee schemes while the BJP seems to be leveraging the "Modi factor" to the hilt.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday attacked the BJP over the obscene video case in Hassan district by questioning who gave the accused Prajwal Revanna a visa to go abroad. He also hit out at Union Minister Amit Shah asking why did he gave a ticket to Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal, who is the accused in the sex scandal case. 

He alleged that former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda planned the escape of his grandson and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna abroad. 

“Who gives passport and visa for travelling abroad? It’s the Centre. Can he go without the Centre’s knowledge? It was former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda who planned and sent him abroad,” the Chief Minister said.

"Prajwal pen drives case is not related to DCM DK Shivakumar. Why did Amit Shah give a ticket to the accused of a sex scandal?" he questioned.

Siddaramaiah also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to direct the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs to cancel the Diplomatic Passport issued to Prajwal Revanna and ensure his return to face the law.

Prajwal is accused in an alleged sex scandal which is under investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Karnataka government. He is believed to have escaped to Germany shortly after polling in the first phase of elections in the state got over on April 26, in which Prajwal was the JD(S)-BJP combine's candidate from Hassan. 

The Karnataka CM said that SIT will conduct an investigation in a transparent manner in the case.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah wrote on X, "The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with Prajwal Revanna's obscene video case. Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted."

Bengaluru, Apr 29: HD Revanna, the father of Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna, has accused rivals of creating a conspiracy out of "old videos", a comment that is likely to raise a bigger row over his son's alleged link to the obscene videos.

A woman yesterday filed a police case against Prajwal Revanna and his father over alleged sexual assault. Prajwal Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) MP and grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has denied the latest allegations and also filed a police complaint over circulation of obscene videos, which he said were morphed.

Prajwal Revanna left for Germany on Saturday morning after voting in the Lok Sabha elections a day earlier.

"I know what kind of conspiracy is going on. I am not someone who'll get scared and run away. They have released something that was 4-5 years old. Expelling him from the party is left to the party high command," HD Revanna said.

When it was pointed out that an FIR has been registered against him too, he said, "There is politics, I don't want to comment. They (Congress) are in government and they will do whatever they want."

"All these things are not just today, the Deve Gowda family in the last 40 years (has been targeted by) Congress. CoD (now CID), Lokayukta probe, we have been facing for the last 40 years... I don't want to react to anything...let them take action in accordance with law," he said, adding that he hasn't spoken to Deve Gowda on the issue.

"Since the special investigation team is looking into the case, I will not react any further," HD Revanna said.

Yesterday, a first information report was filed against the father-son duo on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman.

The survivor alleged both sexually assaulted her, and when Revanna's wife was not home, he touched her inappropriately and used to sexually assault her. The complainant alleged Prajwal Revanna also misbehaved with her daughter over a video call. "My daughter blocked his number after repeated calls," the complainant said.

The latest FIR comes when Prajwal Revanna is already in the middle of a controversy after some objectionable videos went viral on social media allegedly involving him.

Prajwal Revanna is seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from Hassan.