Overcoming national parties is big challenge before us: HD Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said overcoming both national parties- Congress and BJP- was the challenge before his party during the November 3 bypolls for two assembly constituencies in Karnataka, as he expressed confidence about winning both the seats.

Election Commission on Tuesday announced the schedule for by-election to Sira assembly constituency in Tumakuru district and Rajarajeshwari Nagar in the city, for which the results will be declared on November 10.

"Ours is a regional party, though we have given a Prime Minister for the country, our strength lies in Karnataka.

Overcoming both the national parties is a challenge for us in this bypoll. We will have to strategize to beat their wily politics, and we are getting mentally prepared for it," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

Later in a series of tweets, he said Sira is our own constituency and in Rajarajeshwari Nagar also we have dominance, so there is an unshakable confidence about JD(S) winning both the seats, and "appropriate and legitimate" candidates will soon be announced. The bypolls had been necessitated in Sira following the death of sitting MLA B Sathyanarayana of JD(S) last month, while the Rajarajeshwari Nagar seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Congress MLA N Munirathna under the anti- defection law last year.

With both constituencies having considerable Vokkaliga population, which is considered JD(S)' core vote bank, winning the two seats is key for the regional party for its survival and further consolidating its base among the community votes and in the old Mysuru region, where Congress is a major challenger.

Pointing out that late Sathyanarayana had won Sira seat for JD(S) defying BJP's allurements, Kumaraswamy trying to play the sympathy card said, "If Sathyanna (Sathyanarayana) was alive the seat would have been with us. Righteously we have to win Sira." "Despite being in mourning in Sira, we have to face this painful election", he said, adding that others have taken this election as a prestige, for them it is a matter of loss or gain, but we are trying to find a solution for our pain by winning this election. Congress has already announced that it will be fielding former Minister T B Jayachandra as party candidate from Sira, while JD(S) is likely to announce its candidate soon and speculations are rife that the party is likely to name a family member of late MLA Sathyanarayana, eyeing for sympathy votes. BJP is also yet to announce its candidate for Sira. For the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency too all the three parties are yet to announce candidates.