BENGALURU: The bypoll to the Ballari Lok Sabha seat is promising to turn into an intense battle between BJP and Congress with JD(S) expected to extend its support to the latter. Though the two parties are yet to finalise their candidates, the political dynamics is panning out to be a clash between the camps of former BJP minister B Sriramulu and Congress strongman and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the District in-charge Minister of Ballari.
The bypoll in Ballari has been necessitated by Sriramulu’s resignation after he was elected to the State Assembly recently. The BJP leadership has decided to give a free hand to Sriramulu, from choosing a winnable candidate to leading the campaign, to win the Ballari battle.
The party is ready to offer the ticket to one of Sriramulu’s kin. J Shanta, former MP and Sriramulu’s sister, and T Suresh Babu, a close relative of Sriramulu, are being seen as the top contenders to enter the fray. Meanwhile, retired judge N Y Hanumanthappa or his son Sujay Kumar too have emerged as possible candidates.
“We have entrusted Sriramulu with the responsibility of ensuring the victory of BJP in Ballari. The party will consider Sriramulu’s views in choosing the right candidate. The BJP Core Committee will meet on Tuesday or Wednesday to finalise the candidates for the bypoll,” BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said after a meeting with party leaders on Monday.
The Congress is witnessing competition between Venkatesh Prasad, brother of Congress MLA B Nagendra, and senior leader Ramprasad, for the ticket in Ballari.
However, it is Shivakumar who is set to lead the charge against the saffron party as he is the District in-charge Minister of Ballari. AICC General Secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka K C Venugopal is scheduled to chair a meeting with state Congress leaders on Tuesday as part of the exercise to select the bypoll candidates of the party and deliberate on strategies to humble the BJP.
Accepting the challenge, Sriramulu said, “Shivakumar may be a strong leader in Congress and in-charge minister of Ballari. But his game and tactics will not work.”