Cong, BJP, JD(S) in 'big fight' for bypoll seats

NT Bengaluru: The three biggest political parties of Karnataka may all end up fielding candidates in the three vacant Assembly seats in the state namely Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday the three seats in Karnataka will witness by-elections on November 13 and that the results will be out on November 23. Here is what Congress, BJP and JD(S) have at stake:

Sandur: Tukaram tries to keep it in family; Sandur, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) was vacated by Congressman E Tukaram after he won the Ballari Lok Sabha segment and is now trying to secure a by-poll ticket for either his son or daughter. Tukaram had defeated BJP candidate B Sriramulu in Ballari. Tukaram was promised that upon victory, his daughter Chaitanya would secure a ticket from Sandur. The other option is Tukaram’s son Raghunandan. Tukaram had also defeated BJP candidate Shilpa Raghavendra in Sandur by nearly 36,000 votes in 2023. She is a potential BJP candidate again alongside Diwakar Babu. Sriramulu is also lobbying for the ticket.

Shiggaon: 3 INC men stake claim to ticket; As many as three Congressmen aspire for the Shiggaon ticket. The seat was vacated by former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after he won the Haveri Lok Sabha segment. Bommai had also won Shiggaon against Congressman Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan in 2023 by a margin of around 36,000 votes. Yasir is in the camp of Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and was favoured over CM Siddaramaiah loyalist Azeempeer Khadri, who had lost to Bommai in 2018 by a smaller margin of around 9,000 votes. Khadri is of the opinion that he can poll around 40,000 votes in Shiggaon by himself as the seat is home to a sizeable Muslim population. However, a section in the local Congress unit reckons Muslim candidates consolidated a section of the Hindu voters with the BJP. They argue the party should opt for a Lingayat candidate since the community is also populous in Shiggaon and have suggested Congress Haveri district president Sanjeev Niralgi’s name. Meanwhile, Bommai has denied his son Bharat will contest Shiggaon for the BJP.

Channapatna: Nikhil, Yogeshwar emerge as frontrunners; BJP MLC CP Yogeshwar – a five time Channapatna MLA – and JD(S) Karnataka youth wing president Nikhi l Kumaraswamy have emerged as two probable candidates for the Channapatna ticket. The seat was vacated by former CM HD Kumaraswamy after he contested and won from the Mandya Lok Sabha seat on the insistence of the high command of ally BJP. Kumaraswamy went on to land a Union Ministry as well. The JD(S) is of the opinion that they should field the lone National Democratic Alliance ((NDA) candidate in Channapatna since they won the seat twice in a row. Kumaraswamy had defeated Yogeshwar in 2018 and then in 2023. Meanwhile, if Nikhil lands the ticket, Congress is hoping to get Yogeshwar to contest from Congress, a prospect the BJP MLC has ruled out. Another option for the Congress is former MP DK Suresh.