BENGALURU: As the Election Commission of India (ECI) did not announce the dates for the bypolls to three Assembly constituencies in Karnataka on Friday, the three major political parties will now have ample time to prepare for the elections.
With this, the suspense over candidates to the Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon constituencies will continue for some more time. JDS, Congress and BJP respectively held these seats, which are prestigious for them. The BJP high command will decide on Sandur and Shiggaon, while Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy, who is also state JDS president, will call the shots with the Channapatna candidature. He held the seat before becoming Mandya MP, and he is planning to field one of his family members, either his wife Anitha or son Nikhil, sources said.
But former minister and BJP MLC CP Yogeshwara too is keen to contest from the seat, and has threatened to run as an independent if he is denied the ticket. Of late, he seems to have patched up with Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, which has caught the eye of political circles, and some believe that he could join Congress. “It is going to be a tough fight between Congress and NDA as both are in power at the state and Centre. Yogeshwara can give a tough fight only if he takes one of the sides as a candidate,” an analysts suggested.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai resigned from Shiggaon and is now BJP MP from Haveri. His son Bharat, who campaigned for his father, is projecting himself as the BJP candidate from Shiggaon, sources said. But Srikant Dundigouda, who switched to BJP from Congress to support Bommai, too is eyeing the seat.
In Congress, there is intense competition with over ten leaders, including Haveri District Congress Committee president Sanjeev Neeralagi, former minister R Shankar, Yasir Khan Pathan and Syed Ajeempeer Khadri, aiming to contest. “It is to be seen whether there will be the alleged adjustment politics this time too between some leaders of Congress and BJP to let Bharat win,” said a Congress leader.
The Sandur seat was vacated by Congress leader E Tukaram, who became the Ballari MP. He had agreed to contest the parliamentary election only under the condition that the Assembly seat is given to his daughter Souparnika.
But with the political scenario changing and B Nagendra resigning as a minister after the ST Corporation scam, Tukaram could contest the bypoll if the party high command promises him a berth in the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Souparnika will then make her debut either in Sandur or Ballari constituency if the situation demands, sources said.
BJP, which made use of the services of veteran ST Nayaka leader B Sriramulu to garner the community’s votes, may ask him again to contest from Sandur, where he had lost to Tukaram in 2023.