Karnataka Election 2018: BJP's Yeddyurappa pulls son Vijayendra out of Varuna constituency; Battle versus Siddaramaiah's son avoided

In a surprising move, former Karnataka chief minister and the BJP's face for the upcoming elections in the state, BS Yeddyurappa, has said that his son Vijayendra will not be contesting Mysore's Varuna legislative assembly constituency seat on a BJP ticket. 

The battle for the Varuna constituency was being seen as a pivotal one has it appeared to pit current CM Siddaramaiah's son Dr Yatheendra Siddaramaiah against the son of Yeddyurappa. 

However, Vijayendra, who had been unofficially campaigning for the BJP in the constituency, has now been pulled out by Yeddyurappa -- a decision that hasn't gone down well with BJP workers who protested in Mysuru.

The BJP's fourth list of candidates which was released on Monday didn't declare who would be contesting the Varuna and Badami seats. While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has held the Varuna constituency since 2008, he is ceding it to his political debutant son for the upcoming elections, and is, instead, contesting from Chamundeshwari and Badami. 

Earlier, the presence of a number of a dynasty in the Congress' list of candidates had caused dissent within the party, with party workers protesting in a number of locations.

Elections are due in the state on May 12 with results to be announced on May 15. In the 2013 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah and the Congress had secured a majority, winning 112 of the 224 seats.

The Karnataka Assembly elections come at a critical time in Indian politics, a year to go before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and a year after perhaps the BJP's biggest electoral achievement -- the stellar win in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Given that the last major win for the Opposition was in the Bihar elections in 2015 and Karnataka is the last large state, apart from Punjab, to be held by the Congress, it presents the BJP with a chance to go further than anybody ever has in making a 'Congress mukt Bharat', as has been party president Amit Shah's goal. Follow the Karnataka Elections in-depth here.