Election Campaigns Wrap Up in Shiggaon, Sandur, Channapatna for Karnataka By-Polls

GG News Bureau
Bengaluru, 11th Nov. The high-pitched campaigning for the upcoming assembly by-elections in Shiggaon, Sandur, and Channapatna concluded on Monday evening as loudspeakers fell silent, marking the end of public campaigning for the polls scheduled for November 13.

According to the Election Commission, the by-elections will feature eight candidates in Shiggaon, 31 in Channapatna, and six in Sandur.

The BJP has fielded Bharath Bommai, the son of former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in Shiggaon. He will compete against Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. In Sandur, the BJP has nominated Bangaru Hanumantha, who will challenge Congress’s E Annapurna. In Channapatna, JD(S), the BJP ally, has fielded Nikhil Kumaraswamy, grandson of the party’s founder H D Deve Gowda, to take on Congress heavyweight C P Yogeeshwara.

The by-polls were necessitated after the resignations of E Tukaram (Sandur), Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon), and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy (Channapatna) following their victories in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.

On the final day of campaigning, candidates, party leaders, and supporters held rallies, public addresses, and roadshows to gather support, while door-to-door campaigning began in the evening.

With 133 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress is facing scrutiny from voters as the by-polls are being viewed as a test of its performance. The BJP, with its ally JD(S), holds 65 and 18 seats, respectively, while there are two independent members.

The by-polls come at a time when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is under investigation by the Karnataka Lokayukta in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment scam, with his wife Parvathi B M and brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy also accused.