Not everyone in Congress is sure of by-election candidates

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

Although the Congress tried to create a consensus, there appears to be some discontent in the party over the candidates for the three upcoming by-elections. Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna will go to polls on November 13 and the results are expected on November 23. Channapatna is witnessing the most bitterly contested battle of the three where JD(S) has fielded party state youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy as the lone National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate. Congress ticket holder is five-time Channapatna MLA CP Yogeshwar.

There was friction in the NDA as Yogeshwar had staked a claim for the candidacy. However, the JD(S) had insisted on fielding one of their own as the seat was won by the party twice in a row. JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy had displaced Yogeshwar in 2018 and there had been a repeat of the result in 2023. However, the JD(S) bigwig had to vacate Channapatna in June because he had contested and won from the Mandya Lok Sabha segment on the insistence of ally BJP.

He was rewarded with the coveted Heavy Industries portfolio by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. Yogeshwar initially wasn’t able to get rid of infighting in the Congress camp either as party Channapatna taluk president Raghunandan Ramanna had refrained from campaigning for him. Apparently, Ramanna was a ticket hopeful in case DK Suresh didn’t contest.

However, since then both Suresh and Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar have convinced Raghunandan to campaign for Yogeshwar with his supporters. However, it remains to be seen if Congress workers turn up or will Yogeshwar mostly depend on his significant cadre base in Channapatna to deliver the goods.

Shiggaon challenge for party; In Shiggaon a seat which the Congress hasn’t held for three decades the party faces an uphill battle against former CM Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharat. Congress has fielded Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, favouring him over Azeempeer Khadri, who promptly filed a nomination as an independent. However, Khadri was made to withdraw his nomination. The matter appears to be settled but observers reckon Khadri’s supporters are still unhappy and might not turn up to campaign for Pathan, who had lost to Bommai last year. Pathan is said to have a better chance against the son as opposed to the father but Congress being a divided house won’t help his bid. Bommai vacated Shiggaon earlier this year after winning from the Haveri Lok Sabha segment.

Sandur seen as stronghold; Sandur, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), is known as a Congress bastion but the party candidate hasn’t inspired confidence in some within the party. The seat was vacated in June by E Tukaram, who had contested from the Ballari Lok Sabha segment and won. His condition had been that his family would retain the Sandur candidacy.