Karnataka is all set to witness a high voltage and crucial Assembly bypolls battle for the three segments in the state.
Ensuring victory is crucial for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is facing an investigation by the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
Winning all three segments is crucial for the NDA alliance in the state to keep the momentum against the Congress going in the state. The Congress previously held one of the seats (Sandur). The BJP (Shiggaon) and JD-S (Channapatna) held one seat each.
The by-election results are also crucial for the State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy. It’s also crucial for BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra.
Securing the win in the Channapatna seat is also prestigious for Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is making an all-out attempt to emerge as the leader of the Vokkaliga community against former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda family.
On the other hand, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy who represented the Channapatna seat before winning the Mandya Lok Sabha seat, has announced that the people are going to vote for him irrespective of the candidate.
Shivakumar has also repeatedly maintained that he is the candidate for the Channapatna. He had toured all the important towns and villages of the constituency.
Shivakumar has announced the formation of Bengaluru South District replacing the existing name of Ramanagar for the district.
Kumaraswamy is eagerly waiting to achieve a thumping victory to send a message that the Deve Gowda family is the first choice of the Vokkaliga community.
However, the BJP candidate C.P. Yogeshwara who contested against Kumaraswamy in the Assembly election is aspiring to become the candidate. The BJP and JD-S will face the election together.
Sources say that Kumaraswamy is keen on fielding his son, actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy. The final announcement in this regard is now to be made by the BJP and the JD-S.
Former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai has high stakes in ensuring the victory of the BJP candidate from the Shiggaon assembly seat. The seat has fallen vacant after Bommai was made to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Haveri Parliamentary Constituency.
Bommai has extensively toured the constituency and prepared the ground for the BJP candidate. The Congress is confident of wresting the seat from the BJP represented by Bommai with the support of minority and oppressed class votes. The party is yet to announce the candidate.
Sandur Assembly segment (ST reserve) was represented by the Congress MP and former minister E. Tukaram. Tukaram emerged victorious from the Bellary Lok Sabha seat against powerful BJP leader B. Sriramulu.
The BJP is strategising to wrestle the seat from Congress with the changed political scenario in the region following the rejoining of mining baron Janardhana Reddy into the BJP. It is prestigious for Janardhana Reddy to ensure the victory of the BJP in Sandur and consolidate his position in the party.
The Congress had held a “Sadhana Samavesha” in Sandur Constituency on Monday and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had declared that he had given a grant of Rs 1,200 crore grant to the Constituency. He has also made an appeal to the people to avenge the personal attacks on him.
The bypolls will be held on November 13. The results will be announced on November 23. The last date for filing nominations is October 25 and the final date for withdrawal is October 30.