Bengaluru, April 15: The Congress on Sunday released the list of candidates from all seats barring six for the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka. The list includes the names of 218 candidates being fielded by the party out of the total 224 constituencies.

Notably, this was the first list released by the party for the assembly polls. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be contesting from the seat of Chamundeshwari, which he had won on five earlier occasions. However, his incumbent constituency, Varuna, will be contested by Siddaramaiah's son Dr Yathindra.

Full list of 218 candidates released by the Congress:

In the past week, the BJP had released its first list of 72 candidates. The party is expected to release its second list today, following the conclusion of the Central Election Committee meeting underway in the national capital. The meet is being chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The assembly elections in Karnataka are slated to be held in a single phase on May 12. The counting of votes are scheduled on May 15.

The election results hold key to the future of both the Congress and the BJP moving into the general elections next year. While Karnataka is among the four states currently being held by the Congress, it is also the only southern province where the BJP is a force to reckon with.

In the last assembly elections, the Congress had wrested the state from the BJP, winning 122 of the 224 seats. The BJP, on the other hand, was reduced to 40.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2018 08:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).