Bypolls: More than Cong, BJP, JD(S) have lot to prove

NT Correspondents Ramanagar: While not many expect the battle for the three bypoll seats to have an impact on the fortunes of the ruling Congress in Karnataka, it is surely a do-or-die battle for the BJP-JD(S) combine which has been making every attempt to unsettle the state goverment. Interestingly, two of the three bypoll seats were held by the BJP-JD(S) and going by the current indications, there is every possibility of the Opposition front being restricted to just one seat - Shiggaon- held earlier by former CM Basavaraj Bommai while the wind seems to be blowing in favour of the Congress in the other two seats - Channapatna and Sandur. For instance, the contest for Channapatna is between JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Congress ticket holder CP Yogeshwar and is actually a proxy battle between two Vokkaliga heavyweights. In Nikhil’s corner is his father and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who held Channapatna before vacating in June. Meanwhile, Yogeshwar is being backed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. According to unofficial estimates, Vokkaligas account for 59 per cent of the voters in the Channapatna segment. Yogeshwar is a five-time MLA from Channapatna who quit the BJP on being denied the opportunity to contest as the lone National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from the seat. Shivakumar reckons Yogeshwar’s strong cadre base in the constituency gives Congress the best chance to secure a victory. This is understandable since the Grand Old Party only bagged only 7.77 per cent of the vote in Channapatna in the 2023 polls. Meanwhile, Yogeshwar secured 40.7 per cent. Kumaraswamy on the other hand desperately wants to retain the seat with his son if he plans on returning to state politics. The issue is that Nikhil has lost twice before, once in the Mandya Lok Sabha poll in 2019, and the other time in 2023 in Ramanagar. Shivakumar is also hoping the by-election victories will help catapult him to contest to the CM’s post. The MLAs in his corner are already projecting him as the next CM to court Vokkaliga votes, a strategy that had worked in 2023. Shivakumar’s message has been that he is as good as the candidate who in this case is Yogeshwar.

Dynastic politics reigns supreme: Dynastic politics appears to be ruling the roost in the remaining two seats as well. In Sandur, Congress MP from Ballari E Tukaram has managed to field his wife Annapurna. He had held the seat before vacating it after winning Ballari. Annapurna will be taking on BJP candidate Bangaru Hanumanthu. Meanwhile, former CM Basavaraja Bommai wants to hold onto pocket borough Shiggaon as his son Bharat will be contesting. He will be taking on Congressman Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. It is not clear if the bypolls will have a major impact on state politics as CM Siddaramaiah battles corruption allegations. Prior to the by-polls, Congress, BJP and JD(S) held a seat a piece.