BENGALURU: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka Channapatna, Sandur, and Shiggaon on November 13. The results will be declared on November 23.
Although the outcome of bypolls will neither significantly alter the equations in the Legislative Assembly nor have a direct bearing on the government, winning these seats is crucial for the top leaders from three parties, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is facing flak over several issues.
These seats became vacant after former CMs HD Kumaraswamy of JDS (Channapatna), Basavaraj Bommai of BJP (Shiggaon), and Congress’ E Tukaram (Sandur-ST) resigned after they were elected to Lok Sabha earlier this year.
The ruling Congress and the BJP-JDS combine have started groundwork to retain their seats, though they are yet to announce their candidates.
While the embattled CM will be keen to assert his leadership within his party and send out a message to opposition BJP-JDS leaders, who are demanding his resignation over the scams in MUDA and the ST development corporation.
For HDK, BJP, sorting out internal issues to finalise candidate a challenge
The CM sounded the poll bugle on Sunday while addressing a rally in Sandur. He accused BJP of engaging in conspiracies and smear campaigns against him and asked people to defeat that party in the bypolls.
At a time when the state and central agencies are probing the MUDA case against him and the scam in the ST development corporation, a good show in bypolls would boost his image. It could take a further beating if Congress fails to do well.
The byelection, especially in Channapatna, will also be crucial for Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who is licking his wounds after his younger brother DK Suresh lost his Bengaluru Rural LS seat in 2024.Shivakumar seems to be determined to assert his leadership in Ramanagara district by winning the seat that was represented by his bête noire Kumaraswamy. The DyCM has visited the constituency several times and announced many projects. The party is yet to announce its candidate and Suresh’s name is doing the rounds.Normally, the party that is in power will have an advantage in bypolls. However, JDS and BJP are likely to pull out all the stops to woo voters to retain their seats.
Retaining Channapatna will be important for Kumaraswamy. BJP MLC CP Yogeshwar is lobbying to be the BJP-JDS combine candidate, while Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil’s name is also doing the rounds.
For Kumaraswamy and BJP, sorting out internal issues to finalise the candidate will be a major challenge as Congress will be keen to make the most of any fissures within the NDA over the matter.
In Shiggaon, Basavaraj Bommai will be looking to retain the seat with BJP, while in Sandur it will be a face-off between Congress and BJP.
The BJP and JDS will intensify their campaign against the government by highlighting the alleged irregularities in the allotment of MUDA sites, the ST development corporation scam, development works not getting adequate funds, and withdrawal of cases against those involved in the 2022 Hubballi riots.
On its part, the ruling Congress will be banking on its guarantee schemes and development works taken up in these constituencies in the last 16 months. If the government takes any decision on caste census at its next cabinet meeting, it would be one of the major issues during the bypolls. However, the government is unlikely to take that risk.
Bypoll schedule
Issue of Gazette Notification: Oct 18, 2024 (Friday)
Last date of Nominations: Oct 25, 2024 (Friday)
Scrutiny of Nominations: Oct 28, 2024 (Monday)
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: Oct 30, 2024 (Wednesday)
Date of Poll: Nov 13, 2024 (Wednesday)
Counting: Nov 23, 2024 (Saturday)
Voter base
Shiggaon (Haveri district): 2,36,790
Sadur (Ballari district): 2,36,047
Channapatna (Ramanagara district): 2,32,836