Congress Unveils Candidates for Karnataka By-Elections Amid Internal Strife

Karnataka By-Elections: Congress Names Candidates

Bengaluru: On Sunday, the Congress party officially revealed its candidates for the upcoming by-elections in two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, despite facing significant internal discord.

K.C. Venugopal, the party's General Secretary and MP, announced that Umesh Meti and Samarth Mallikarjun would contest for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South seats, respectively.

Both constituencies were previously under Congress representation.

The Bagalkot seat was held by senior leader H.Y. Meti, a loyal supporter of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while Davanagere South was represented by the late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, a veteran Congress figure.

The party has nominated H.Y. Meti's son for Bagalkot and the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa for Davanagere South. The selection process was prolonged due to fierce competition among candidates in both areas.

An official statement confirmed, 'The Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has endorsed the candidacies.'

In Bagalkot, H.Y. Meti's children were among the candidates, alongside other notable leaders. In Davanagere South, local Muslim leaders urged the party to nominate a candidate from their community, highlighting the presence of over 85,000 voters.

The party opted to nominate family members of previous representatives for both seats. Senior leaders, including Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, convened in Bengaluru for extensive discussions to address internal conflicts.

Sources indicated that selecting a candidate for Davanagere South was particularly difficult, as Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan reportedly threatened to resign if a minority candidate was not chosen.

However, Surjewala cautioned Khan against pressuring the leadership and proceeded with the decision to nominate Samarth Mallikarjun. Surjewala also expressed dissatisfaction with Mallikarjun's early nomination submission, which was seen as a tactic to exert pressure.

Considering Shamanur Shivashankarappa's significant contributions to the party in central Karnataka, the decision was made to nominate his grandson.

It remains uncertain how the party will address the concerns of local minority leaders, who have threatened to work against Congress if their community is not represented.

The BJP had previously announced its candidates and submitted their nominations for both constituencies.

Expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal accused former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and his son, state party president B.Y. Vijayendra, of colluding with the late Shivashankarappa's family to field a weak candidate to facilitate Samarth Mallikarjun's success. Vijayendra refuted these claims, labeling them as unfounded and asserting that the party carefully selected its candidates.

Voting for the two constituencies is scheduled for April 9.