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Karnataka is witnessing two interesting Assembly by-elections on April 9. The Congress is desperate to retain both the Assembly seats, while its rival BJP is trying to stage a comeback in state politics by winning the by-elections.
Randeep Surjewala Reaches Bengaluru for Candidate Selection
New Delhi: The AICC General Secretary and in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala, today flew to Bengaluru to select party candidates for the two by-elections in the state. With the last date for filing nominations being March 23, the BJP has already announced its candidates.
By-elections were necessitated in the state following the death of two sitting Congress MLAs in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
After internal consultations, both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar decided to give tickets to the family members of the deceased leaders H Y Meti of Bagalkot and Shamanur Shivashankarappa. However, Congress is facing a challenge from within the party as there are several contenders for these two seats.
Further, for the Bagalkot seat, all the children of late H Y Meti want to contest. But the CM and PCC asked them to arrive at a consensus and come up with one name. So, the PCC sent a team to the constituency for a survey.
With regard to the other seat, Davanagere South, local Minister Jameer Ahmed Khan has pitched for a Muslim candidate. Since it is a strong Lingayat seat, Samarth Shamanuru (the grandson of the deceased Shamanur Shivashankarappa) filed his nomination without waiting for a B-form, stating that the high command would issue it later.
While consensus eludes the Congress party, the rival BJP has announced its candidates. The party has decided to field Veerabadrayya for Bagalkot and Srinivas Dasakariyappa for Davanagere South.
