BJP announces candidates for Bagalkote and Davangere South constituencies, Congress yet to decide
New Delhi/Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP on Thursday announced its candidates for the upcoming Assembly bypolls in Karnataka’s Bagalkote and Davangere South constituencies, which have fallen vacant, necessitating fresh elections.
The party has fielded Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkote and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South, following the approval of its Central Election Committee.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the BJP’s Central Election Committee held on March 18 under the chairmanship of party leader Nitin Nabin, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and other members in attendance.
The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, which resulted in vacancies in the Davanagere South and Bagalkote Assembly segments respectively.
The BJP said the names were finalised after due deliberations by the committee for various assembly by-elections being held across states in 2026.
The announcement comes amid heightened political activity in Karnataka, with parties gearing up for the bypolls that are seen as a key test of strength at the constituency level.
The relatives of Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti are demanding Congress tickets.
Congress is yet to announce its candidates though Meti's family members met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also Congress state unit president, and demanded a ticket.
Siddaramaiah on Wednesday told reporters that three members from the Meti family had sought the ticket—Mallikarjun, Umesh, and Mahadev, to contest from Bagalkote.
Shivashankarappa's son S S Mallikarjun, who is Congress Davangere North MLA, is demanding ticket for his son Samarth Shamanur for Davangere South, Congress sources said.
"In all likelihood, Samarth may get the ticket," a Congress leader told PTI.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
