The Election Commission of India’s announcement on holding byelections to three Lok Sabha constituencies — Ballari, Shivamogga, and Mandya — just a few months before the 2019 parliamentary polls has surprised political parties.
The newly elected MPs in the three constituencies will have a term of just about seven months, with fresh elections expected to be held in April-May 2019. JD(S) State president A.H. Vishwanath and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the bypolls were “uncalled for” at this juncture and would achieve no more than burdening the exchequer.
According to sources, with the EC announcement, there is a possibility that Cabinet expansion will be put off. The campaigning for the byelections in three parliamentary and two Assembly constituencies will also mark the start of campaigning for the 2019 elections for all three of the State’s major parties. The results should help them judge the mood of the electorate.
While the Congress and the JD(S) are expected to fight the byelections together, the BJP is set to go it alone in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda said: “It is inevitable for political parties to face the elections when the EC decides to fill the vacant seats in Parliament.”
He, however, insisted that the outcome of the bypolls would not be an indicator of the 2019 general elections.
Likely candidates
Sources said the JD(S) is likely to field its candidate in Mandya, while the Congress will take Ballari. The alliance in Shivamogga will depend on the candidate. The Congress is unlikely to field its candidate if the JD(S) fields former MLA Madhu Bangarappa, sources said.
There is speculation that Nikhil Gowda, son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, will be fielded from Mandya segment. Mr. Gowda had recently told the media that he would contest from Mandya in the general elections if the party wanted him to.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Congress would take the bypolls seriously. A final call on candidates will be taken after consulting the party’s central leadership.
In Assembly segments
The choice of candidates is nearly set for the Assembly byelections as far as the JD(S) and the Congress are concerned. The JD(S) has decided to field Anita Kumaraswamy, wife of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, from Ramanagaram, while the Congress has zeroed in on Anand Nyamagouda, son of the late Siddu Nyamagouda, in Jamkhandi constituency.
For the BJP, which has no foothold in Ramanagaram, choices seem to be few. With former Minister C.P. Yogeshwar said to be reluctant to contest, the party’s district president Rudresh is being considered. At Jamkhandi, the names of former MLA Shrikant Kulkarni, who lost against Siddu Nyamagouda in the past two polls, and Sangamesh Nirani, brother for former Minister Murugesh Nirani, are making the rounds in BJP circles.
Clamour in Ballari
In Ballari, where the clamour of ministerial berths has been the top agenda in Congress circles in the past few weeks, the declaration of byelection has caught party workers unprepared. With the JD(S) not being a force here, the Congress and the BJP will now have to start finding suitable candidates.
Ballari parliamentary seat is reserved for a Scheduled Tribe candidate, following the delimitation of constituencies in 2008. The BJP won from there in both 2009 and 2014. In its camp, as of now J. Shanta and her brother Sanna Phakirappa, both former MPs from Ballari and Raichur (with Sanna Phakirappa unsuccessfully contesting in the 2018 Assembly elections), appear to be the aspirants. The Congress has to scout for a candidate. The camp is optimistic as the party won from six of the nine Assembly segment in this year’s polls.