Voting was in progress on Thursday for bypolls to the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa. Counting will take place on May 4.
Though the outcome is unlikely to shift the state’s power balance, the contests have taken on significance as a prestige battle between the ruling Congress and the BJP. The Congress is seeking to retain both seats, while the BJP is aiming to snatch them and deliver a setback to the Siddaramaiah-led government, which it has targeted over alleged internal rifts.
Bagalkot has over 2.59 lakh voters across 319 polling stations, with nine candidates in the fray. In Davanagere South, more than 2.31 lakh voters are eligible to vote at 284 polling stations, where 25 candidates are contesting.
Security has been tightened to ensure smooth polling, officials said.
The BJP has fielded former MLA Veerabhadrayya Charantimath in Bagalkot and newcomer Srinivas T Dasakariyappa in Davanagere South.
The Congress, banking on sympathy, has nominated family members of the deceased leaders—Umesh Meti, son of H Y Meti, and Samarth Mallikarjun, grandson of Shivashankarappa. Samarth is the son of state minister S S Mallikarjun and MP Prabha Mallikarjun, both influential figures in the region.
In Davanagere South, the Congress faces the risk of a split in Muslim votes, with 14 candidates from the community in the fray. Rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan remains on the ballot despite withdrawing his campaign after the deadline.
Bagalkot, too, saw internal dissent within the Congress over ticket allocation, though differences were largely resolved following intervention by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
In contrast, the BJP has projected unity, with its leaders campaigning in tandem.
Senior leaders from both sides campaigned extensively ahead of polling. While Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and ministers spent considerable time in the constituencies, the BJP mocked their presence as a sign of “fear of defeat.”
In the 2023 Assembly polls, Meti had won Bagalkot by 5,878 votes, while Shivashankarappa had secured Davanagere South by a margin of 27,888 votes.
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