Here's what YOU must know about Karnataka election!

Vicky Nanjappa gives a lowdown on the Karnataka assembly election

The Karnataka assembly elections are being watched with a great deal of interest. At the moment, it appears to be a straight fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party with the Janata Dal-Secular ending up playing king maker.

Here is a short FAQ on the elections, which are scheduled to be held on May 5.

The Main Contenders

Siddaramaiah: Senior Congress leader who moved away from the JD-S six years back. He is one of the contenders for the chief minister's post if the Congress wins by itself.

Dr G Parameshwar: The Karnataka Congress chief is also a contender for the CM's post. His chances would largely depend on the performance by the MLAs that he selected to contest the elections.

Jagadish Shettar: The BJP has projected that Shettar will continue to be chief minister if it wins. Although his victory is certain, a lot would depend on how he gathers the votes for his party.

Suresh Kumar: Battling the very powerful Shobha Karandlage of the Karnataka Janatha Paksha, the performance of the state law minister is being closely watched.

H D Kumaraswamy: The JD-S CM candidate would be looking to take at least 40 seats to ensure that his party is in the reckoning for the government formation process.

B S Yeddyurappa: The former chief minister, who is on a revenge mode against his former party, the BJP.

Sriramulu: The former BJP leader's performance in the aftermath of the mining scandal and him breaking away to form a new party will be closely watched.

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The Caste Equation

The two major castes in Karnataka are Vokkaligas and the Lingayats.

The current population of Karnataka is 70,201,204. The Lingayats comprise 17 per cent of this population while the Vokkaligas are at 15.42 per cent.

While 11 per cent of the population is Muslim, the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes form 20 per cent of the electorate.

The main Lingayat Leaders are Jagadish Shettar (BJP) and B S Yeddyurappa (KJP).

The main Vokkaliga leaders are H D Kumaraswamy (JD-S), D K Shivakumar (Congress) and R Ashok (BJP)

The main SC/ST leaders are Siddaramaiah and G Parameshwar (Both Congress)

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Election Issues

The Bharatiya Janata Party has made its administration post B S Yeddyurappa an example to garner votes. They are also focusing on the corruption in the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

The Congress is focusing on the failure of the BJP. It speaks of corruption in the BJP and the dissidence.

The JD-S is targeting both the Congress and the BJP on non-performance. It also has made the Cauvery water imbroglio an election issue.

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Constituencies To Watch Out For

Rajajinagar: Karnataka Law Minister Suresh Kumar (BJP) vs Shobha Karandlage (KJP).

Hubli-Dharwad Central: Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar seeks a re-election.

Soraba: Battle between two brothers and their uncle. Kumar and Madhu (Cong and JD-S) -- the two sons of late S Bangarappa -- would battle against each other for this seat. Their uncle H Halappa is contesting on a KJP ticket.

Shikaripur: Home town and constituency of B S Yeddyurappa.

Shimoga: K S Eshwarappa, the deputy chief minister, would contest from here.

Ramnagar: Constituency of H D Kumaraswamy, former chief minister of Karnataka and JD-S leader.

Channapatana: H D Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha will be contesting on a JD-S ticket from this seat.

Padmanabhanagar: Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok would contest on a BJP ticket.

Varuna: Constituency of Congress leader Siddaramaiah. 

Bellary: The mining region of Karnataka will have a keenly contested battle between the BSR Congress, BJP and the Congress. 

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The Money Factor

In 2008, Bellary was the most-watched place due to the sheer money power of the mining lobby. However, this time the campaign has been lacklustre with the Election Commission keeping a tight vigil.

The richest candidate in the elections is Priya Krishna who has moveable assets worth Rs 815.37 crore and immoveable assets of around Rs 95 crore and liability of Rs 777.79 crore.

The richest couple in the elections is H D Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha who have declared Rs 123 crore worth of assets together.

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Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi

Both Rahul and Modi will campaign in Karnataka. Many have made this as a direct fight between the two. It is said that the Karnataka election results will determine their prospects at the Centre.

Rahul will be in Karnataka from April 23 onwards while Modi is expected to campaign on April 28. However, both would not want to associate too much with the state as the results are extremely unpredictable.

They will campaign only in constituencies where their party is sure of a win.

The Possible Verdict

At the start of the election it was said that the Congress would take 110 seats. However, infighting ensured that prediction was lowered to 90.

The BJP is likely to take anything between 60 to 80 seats.

However, the deciding party would be the JD-S, which is likely to get some 30 to 40 seats. The JD-S is most likely to go with the Congress if it has to play king maker.

The saga will unfold on May 8 when counting of votes is taken up.