Campaigning for the by-elections scheduled for April 9 in Davangere South and Bagalkot constituencies concluded on Tuesday evening.
With a 48-hour silence period in effect, candidates are now limited to limited door-to-door communication. The elections were triggered by the deaths of Congress legislators Chamanur Shivashankarappa and H. Y. Meite. The ruling party has nominated Samarth Mallikarjun in Davangere South and Umesh Mete in Bagalkot, both relatives of the deceased legislators, a move the party believes will boost local support.
In the final phase, the ruling party continued its focus on social welfare programmes, introducing bypolls as an assessment of schemes targeting backward classes, minorities and economically weaker sections. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar led the campaign. Shivakumar said he campaigned in both Bagalkot and Davanagere South and people are happy with the government programmes.
“There is no relief from the Center and there is a rise in prices. But the five guarantee schemes put in place by our government have given people relief,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BJP framed the contests as a rejection of dynastic politics and questioned the performance of the state government. Its candidates include Srinivasa T Dasakaryappa in Davangere South and former MLA Veerana Charanthimath in Bagalkot.
“There is confusion within the Congress. In the southern part of Davanagere, Muslims have decided not to vote for them, while in Bagalkot, there is an internal conflict within the family of the Congress candidate,” said Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly R Ashoka.
He also challenged Congress’ claims about the ruling. “I want to ask the Congress why it is suffering in the by-elections when it is making big claims about development and implementing guarantee schemes. Are you in a position where people will vote for you willingly?” He said.
State BJP president P Vijayendra said the by-elections “disturbed CM Siddaramaiah’s sleep” and became a “tough nut to crack”, while accusing the government of failing to deliver development and neglecting the Ahinda communities.
Local factors are expected to influence the outcome. South Davanagere typically favors the Congress, while Bagalkot saw alternating support between the two parties
The election took place alongside internal demands within Congress for representation and ticket allocation, adding another layer to the contest. The Janata Dal (secularism) remained a marginal presence.
Voting is scheduled to take place on April 9, with the authorities declaring a holiday in the two constituencies to enable voting. Employees in government offices, educational institutions, banks and other institutions in these areas have been given paid leave. The votes will be counted on May 4.
