Bengaluru, Oct 13: A total of 19 candidates are in the fray in Sindagi and Hangal assembly constituencies for the October 30 by elections, poll officials said on Wednesday.

Today being the last day for withdrawal of nominations, two from Sindagi and four from Hangal withdrew their papers, leaving six and thirteen candidates in the fray from the two constituencies respectively.

Two candidates from Sindagi are women.

Counting of votes will take place on November 2.

The by-elections have been necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the death of Sindagi JD(S) legislator M C Managuli and BJP's C M Udasi from Hangal.

While Ramesh Bhusanur, who came second behind Managuli in 2018 polls, is the BJP candidate from Sindagi, Shivaraj Sajjanar is its candidate from Hangal constituency.

The Congress has named Managuli's son Ashok Managuli, who has joined the party, as its candidate from Sindgi, while former MLC Srinivas Mane is its candidate from Hangal.

JD(S), which was the first to announce its candidates, has fielded 33-year-old post graduate Naziya Shakeel Ahmed Angadi from Sindagi and 35-year-old B.E, M.Tech (CSE) graduate Niyaz Shaikh from Hangal.

This is the first electoral challenge for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after taking charge. Retaining Hangal is even more important for him as it is the neighboring constituency to his Shiggaon assembly segment.

The Congress, by ensuring a win, wants to give momentum for its preparations in the run up to 2023 assembly polls in the state, while JD(S) is looking to retain Sindagi seat and thereby prove that it still commands a support base in the northern districts.

Congress leaders have alleged that JD(S) deliberately fielded minority candidates for the Hangal and Sindagi by-elections to help the BJP.

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Gurugram, Apr 5 (PTI): The Muslim-dominated Siroli village in Haryana's Nuh district has elected its sole Hindu panchayat member as the sarpanch, an officer here said.

Thirty-year-old Nisha Chauhan was elected as Siroli sarpanch on April 2.

According to a senior panchayat officer, Siroli panchayat under the Punahana block has 15 members, of which 14 are Muslims and eight are women. The post of Siroli sarpanch is reserved for women.

Only 250 out of the 3,296 voters in the village are Hindus.

According to panchayat officer Nasim, the panchayat election was held in December 2022. However, the winning candidate, Sahana, was sacked some months later after her education certificates were found to be fake.

The newly elected sarpanch said that her victory is a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.

"My village is Muslim-dominated but the old tradition of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood still exists there. In true sense, there is no religious discrimination in the Mewat area, a living example of which is my election as sarpanch. My victory is a message of communal brotherhood in the entire area," said Chauhan.

Former Siroli sarpanch and a current ward member, Ashraf, said the panchs have chosen Chauhan in the hope for better administration.

"Here Hindus and Muslims are in harmony. We fully participate in each other's happiness and sorrow," Ashraf said.