Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 15: With the filing of nominations for the November 3 bypoll for three Lok Sabha and two assembly seats beginning on Monday October 15, all the three major parties seem to have made up their mind on their candidates. Interestingly, wife of the current CM and three children of former CMs are in the fray this time.

The two assembly seats that have fallen vacant have been shared by the coalition partners. Congress, which was given two Lok Sabha seats, could not find a willing candidate for Shivamogga constituency and therefore sacrificed the same in favour of JD(S). All the parties however, have to contend with rebellion locally in almost all the constituencies and the leaders are trying to douse it.

JD(S) would be fielding former MP L R Shivarame Gowda from Mandya Lok Saha seat, although initially the name of Nikhil Gowda, son of the chief minister, had been coined. Its candidate for Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat will be Madhu Bangarappa, who happens to be a former MLA. For Ramanagara, the name of Anita Kumaraswamy has been finalised.

In Ballari, in spite of opposition from local leaders, Congress leaders have chosen Venkatesh, brother of Ballari rural legislator B Nagendra, as its candidate. Names of former zilla panchayat member Devendrappa and MLC V S Ugrappa were being actively considered in this constituency till the last minute.

In Mandya and Ramanagara, the BJP would be fielding people who recently joined the party as it does not have powerful leaders there. This has given rise to heart burn among local leaders who say that loyalty to the party should have been given prominence. Retired government official Siddaramaiah is being fielded from Mandya Lok Sabha seat. In Ramanagara, the party will issue ticket to Chandrashekhar, son of Congress MLC C M Lingappa. In Shivamogga, Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra would be fielded. In Ballari, former MP and sister of MLA Sriramulu, J Shanta, will get BJP ticket. In Jamkhandi assembly constituency, former MLA, Srikant Kulkarni, who was defeated in the recently held assembly election, will be the party's nominee.

In both Mandya and Ramanagara, JD(S) on its own does not face significant rebellion, but local Congress leaders who are angry at the party's decision to allow JD(S) to gain in popularity, are likely to field rebel candidates as independents. It is said that former minister Cheluvarayaswamy too is trying to turn the chances of JD(S) bleak in Mandya constituency by fielding a candidate in form of Suneeta, wife of former MLA Puttannaiah.

As former CM Siddaramaiah has been made overall in-charge for all the five constituencies which go to the bypoll, he has successfully asserted his supremacy over deputy chief minister Parameshwar and minister, D K Shivakumar. Shivakumar, who was made in-charge of Ballari constituency, could not finalise the name of the candidate as local MLAs were reluctant to discuss the matter with him. At the instance of these MLAs, discussions were held in the presence of Siddaramaiah and name of the candidate was finalised. In Jamkhandi too Siddaramaiah will have a say in the results as people of Kuruba community which looks upon Siddaramaiah as its undisputed leader, is in majority there.

Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, former CM Bangarappa’s son Madhu Bangarappa, former CM J H Patel's son Mahima Patel, and wife of current CM Anita Kumaraswamy, will be in action in this bypoll with the first three in action in Shivamogga Lok Sabha bypoll.