DKS says he is Cong candidate for Channapatna bypoll

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said that he is the Congress candidate for Channapatna Assembly bypoll. Earlier too, Shivakumar had said that he is the candidate, irrespective of whoever contests from the party. The Deputy Chief Minister participated in the Independence Day celebrations and hoisted the national flag in the by-poll bound Channapatna for the first time today, which was seen with political connotations.

Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, is neither the MLA representing Channapatna nor the in-charge Minister of Ramanagara district, which was recently renamed as Bengaluru South, under which Channapatna taluk comes.

Later in the day, replying to reporters’ question in Nelamangala on the city outskirts as to who will be the Congress candidate from Channapatna, he said, “I’m the candidate.” He did not elaborate further. Earlier, too, he had dropped enough hints that he might contest the by-poll from the segment. Shivakumar currently represents the neighbouring Kanakapura segment.

Channapatna bypoll is necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the election of its representative -- JD(S) leader and now Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy -- to Lok Sabha in the recent elections. The byelection schedule for this Assembly seat is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.

Though there were talks earlier that Shivakumar’s brother and former MP D K Suresh, who lost from Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment, may be fielded by Congress in Channapatna, speculations were rife in the political circles, especially the grand old party, that the Deputy CM may himself enter the fray to avenge his brother’s defeat and to re-establish his clout in the region.

According to sources, if Shivakumar contests and wins from Channapatna, he may vacate the seat that he currently represents for Suresh. “People have affection towards us (Congress) as the party got freedom for the country. They want to support the party and the government. People have decided it,” he said, expressing confidence about Congress’ win in the by-poll.

Both Channapatna and Kanakapura are part of the Vokkaliga dominated Ramanagara or now Bengaluru South district, which is Shivakumar’s home turf and, for Kumaraswamy, it is the “place of his political birth”, as he himself has declared several times. It comes under the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment from where Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law and eminent cardiologist C N Manjunath won as a BJP candidate as part of an arrangement between alliance partners BJP and JD(S), by defeating Suresh, which Shivakumar wants to avenge, according to party sources.

BJP MLC C P Yogeeshwara and Kumaraswamy’s actor-turned-politician son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s names are doing the rounds as probable candidates from the BJP-JD(S) alliance for Channapatna. Nikhil had lost the 2023 Assembly polls from the neighbouring Ramanagara Assembly segment. Interestingly, Yogeeshwara and Shivakumar shared the stage and were seated next to each other at the Independence Day event today.

Amid reports that Kumaraswamy may not cede the seat to him, Yogeeshwara on Monday said he was a strong ticket aspirant for the Channapatna Assembly bypoll and expressed hope that the BJP leadership along with alliance partner JD(S) will field him as their joint candidate.

He also said in case he fails to get a ticket, he will contest as an independent, and wants to be back in the NDA fold later. Kumaraswamy won the Channapatna Assembly seat in 2018 and 2023. Before that, Yogeeshwara had represented the seat as a BJP and Samajwadi Party MLA. He had earlier also represented the seat both as an independent and from the Congress party.