Karnataka elections promise high drama

Key ministers who served the BJP government pitted against each other, brothers crossing swords, erosion of Bellary mining baron's influence, a ruling party minus heavyweight B S Yeddyurappa and a fragmented political landscape -- the May five Assembly elections in Karnataka have all the ingredients of a potboiler.
Desertion of more than 30 MLAs and internal bickerings and allegations of scams during its tenure make the ruling BJP look battered.
But the principal opposition Congress, appearing to put up a united front to dislodge the BJP government, is also in not a happy position either as the flood of ticket aspirants has led to a wave of dissidence in its wake.

The main players - BJP (140), Congress (177) and JDS of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (122) announced candidates for majority of seats in the 224-member House on Friday.
Congress tickets are much sought after and aspirants lobbied hard. Those who lost out are crying foul. Some poll surveys in recent weeks claimed the Congress is all set to form the next Government.
The names cleared are largely non-controversial. But the list for the remaining seats expected this week - last day for filing nominations is April 17 -- is eagerly awaited, mainly because it would throw light on whether the parties have given tickets to the tainted, kin of party leaders and defectors.

Senior Congress leaders M Mallikarjuna Kharge and N Dharam Singh are pushing for poll tickets for their sons, while K H Muniyappa is pushing for the candidature of his daughter.
While the 2008 polls were largely a triangular affair with BJP, Congress and JDS slugging it out, the presence of Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) and, to less extent, the BSR Congress of former BJP Minister B Sriramulu is making the poll scene this time hazy.