Bengaluru, October 31: The Congress on Thursday issued a list of eight candidates for the upcoming bypolls in 15 constituencies of Karnataka. The outcome of these elections may determine the fate of the four-month-old government of BS Yediyurappa. To secure a full majority, the BJP needs to win at least seven of the 15 seats where the by-elections will be held. Bypolls in 15 Karnataka Seats to Decide Fate of BS Yediyurappa-Led Nascent BJP Government.

In the list released by the Congress today, Bhimanna Naik was named as the candidate from Yellapur, BH Bannikod from Hirekerur, KB Koliwad from Ranebennur, M Anjanappa from Chikkaballapur, M Narayanasamy from K R Pura, Padmavati Suresh from Hosakote and HP Manjunath from Hunsur.

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The list of candidates has been approved by party's interim president Sonia Gandhi. The bypolls are scheduled to be held on December 5, and the results would be announced by the Election Commission on December 9.

The by-elections in Karnataka comes days after the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, which saw the incumbent BJP emerging as the single-largest party. Despite its victory, the party saw a drop in its electoral strength -- which analysts have linked to the ongoing economic slowdown.

In Karnataka, the bypolls were necessitated due to the disqualification of 15 Congress-JD(S) rebel MLAs in July this year, as they had jumped ship to the BJP. Their membership of the House was terminated under the anti-defection law.

In the 225-member Karnataka assembly, a total of 17 seats are vacant. While bypolls are being held in 15 constituencies on December 9, the by-elections in two seats - Maski and RR Nagar - have not been announced due to a legal dispute being raised in the Karnataka High Court.

For the Yediyurappa government - which currently has 105 MLAs in the 208-member Assembly, victory in around half the bypoll-bound seats is essential to remain in power. After the polls, the strength of the House would increase to 223 -- bringing the halfway majority mark to 112 seats.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 31, 2019 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).