Karnataka bypolls: Congress finalises candidates for Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Sira constituencies

Bengaluru, Oct 07: Congress names TB Jayachandra and Kusuma Hanumantharayappa as party's candidates for by-elections to the legislative assembly constituencies of Sira and Rajarajeshwarinagar, respectively.

Sira in Tumakuru district along with Rajarajeshwari Nagar (R R Nagar) segment in the city will go for bypolls on November 3, for which the election notification will be issued on October 9.

The last date for filing of nomination is October 16 and the counting of votes will take place on November 10.

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The Congress is banking on Kusuma, 31, to win and the party's poll managers say her candidature might swing the November 3 election. Kusuma was the wife of IAS officer DK Ravi, who died in March 2015.

According to the Congress poll managers, Rajarajeshwari Nagar has some 4.8 lakh voters of whom one lakh are Vokkaligas, 70,000 Dalits, 70,000 OBCs, 50,000 Kurubas, 45,000 Lingayats and 25,000 Muslims.

With Munirathna as its candidate, the Congress had won Rajarajeshwari Nagar in 2018. Last year, however, Munirathna was disqualified and he later joined the BJP, necessitating this bypoll.

Meanwhile, the Congress has already announced that it will be fielding former Minister T B Jayachandra as party candidate from Sira.

Jayachandra had represented the constituency twice in 2008 and 2013, by defeating JD(S)' Sathyanarayana, who in turn had defeated him in the 2018 assembly polls.

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The Congress and JD(S) are traditional rivals for the seat, which the BJP has never won.

If BJP fields a strong candidate, the by-election is likely to see a three-cornered contest.

The saffron party is yet to announce its candidate for the seat, and the state leadership has sent its recommendations to the BJP high command.