D.K. Shivakumar Signals Readiness to Contest Channapatna By-Election
BENGALURU: “It becomes inevitable for me to contest the ensuing bye-election for Channapatna assembly seat (Ramnagar district) if voters and party leaders decide on my candidature,” said Deputy Chief Minister and president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday.
Channapatna assembly seat will go face by-election following the resignation of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as Janata Dal Secular MLA, a couple days back. Kumaraswamy was elected from Channapatna in the 2023 election and contested the Mandya Lok Sabha seat as JDS-Bharatiya Janata Party consensus nominee in 2024. He won the Lok Sabha election and resigned to the post of MLA.
Responding to queries from reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar stated that the party has not yet decided on the nominee to contest Channapatna by-poll but said that “Channapatna is in my heart.”
Speculations are rife that Shivakumar would switch to Channapatna from Kanakapura assembly seat and in case of his win in Channapatna, he would make way for his brother D.K. Suresh to contest from Kanakapura. Suresh, a three time Lok Sabha candidate, lost to BJP’s C.N. Manjunath in the recent Lok Sabha election.
Sources told Deccan Chronicle that Shivakumar's possible contest from Channapatna is aimed to regain the lost ground and the last victory of the Congress party was in 2008.
They added that there is no other candidate better than Shivakumar to contest Channapatna by-poll.
Continuing, he said, “Earlier a hobli of Channapatna taluk was part of erstwhile Sathanur assembly seat from where I was elected to Legislative assembly for four times and Channapatna gave birth to my political career.”
“I love Channapatna, I want to help Channapatna and I want to change Channapatna,” stated the KPCC Chief and said Channapatna voters have given about 85,000 votes for Congress nominee in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. “I have to repay the voters obligation,” he said and termed people of Channapatna as good hearted. To a query, he stated “I will seek votes for myself.”
Addressing a gathering in Channapatna, Shivakumar said that Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated for development of Ramnagar after the Congress nominee was elected to the Legislative assembly in the 2023 election.
He thanked the voters of Channapatna for casting 85,000 votes to Congress nominee in Lok Sabha election which has seen an increase from previous year’s assembly wherein the Congress nominee secured about 15,000 votes.
Channapatna assembly seat was a stronghold of Congress party and the last time a Congress nominee won the Channapatna seat was in 2004 and 2008 election through its nominee C.P. Yogeshwar. Yogeshwar is now in BJP.
In the 2023 election, Congress nominee S. Gangadhar finished third in the fray bagging 15, 374 votes while JDS nominee and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy polled 96, 592 votes. C.P. Yogeshwar of BJP got 80, 677 votes.
During his visit to Channapatna Shivakumar offered prayers at various temples in the seat before gathering opinion of leaders on fielding a nominee for the ensuing by-poll.