With the Election Commission of India expected to announce bypolls to Maski and Basavakalyan Assembly seats, the State Congress has given the responsibility of election campaigning to its working presidents Satish Jarkiholi and Eshwar Khandre in the two constituencies, respectively.
In Maski, the Congress is expected to field Basanagouda Turvihal, who switched over to the party from the BJP. In the 2018 Assembly polls, Mr. Turvihal, contesting on BJP ticket, lost to the then Congress candidate Prathapgouda Patil by a slender margin. Mr. Patil later joined the BJP, necessitating the byelection.
In Basavakalyan, the party might give ticket to the wife of deceased MLA Narayan Rao. The final decision will be taken by KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar and party general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, sources said.
