Voting was underway on Thursday for bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka—Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
The by-elections were necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
While the results are unlikely to immediately alter the political balance in the state, the contests are being closely watched as a prestige battle between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
The Congress is aiming to retain both seats, while the BJP is looking to wrest them and score a psychological victory at a time when it has been targeting the ruling party over alleged internal leadership tensions.
In Bagalkot, over 2.59 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes across 319 polling stations, with nine candidates in the fray. Davanagere South is witnessing a multi-cornered contest, with 25 candidates competing for votes from over 2.31 lakh electors across 284 polling stations.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place to ensure smooth polling, officials said.
The BJP has fielded former MLA Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, while Srinivas T Dasakariyappa is contesting from Davanagere South.
The Congress has opted for sympathy candidates in both constituencies, nominating family members of the deceased leaders—Umesh Meti, son of H Y Meti, and Samarth Mallikarjun, grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Samarth is the son of state minister S S Mallikarjun, who oversees Davanagere district, and Member of Parliament Prabha Mallikarjun.
For the BJP, the bypolls present an opportunity to build momentum ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as any setback could be seen as a reflection on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In Davanagere South, the Congress faces concerns over a possible split in Muslim votes, with 14 candidates from the community in the fray. The party had faced internal resistance over the choice of candidate, and although rebel Sadiq Pailwan withdrew his campaign, he remains on the ballot as the withdrawal came after the deadline.
Bagalkot, too, saw initial dissidence within the Congress over ticket distribution, with members of the Meti family staking claim. The differences were eventually managed after intervention from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
In contrast, the BJP has projected unity in both constituencies, with its leaders campaigning collectively.
Senior leaders from both parties campaigned extensively in the run-up to polling. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and several ministers spent days in the constituencies, drawing criticism from the BJP, which termed it a sign of “fear of defeat.”
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti had defeated Charantimath by 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa had won Davanagere South by a margin of 27,888 votes.
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