Congress confident of victory in by-elections

Bengaluru: The mastermind of the 2023 assembly election victory was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as his research team had the best minds working for him. The same team has yet again strategised the line of battle in the three constituencies that are facing elections in November, namely Shiggaon, Chennapatna, and Sandhur.

All three constituencies are rich in OBCs, Muslims, and SC/ST populations, which is in fact the captive vote bank of the Congress party. It is this melange of voters that drove the Congress party into the driver’s seat in the 2023 elections.

Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar and Congress state in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala held a strategic video meeting with ministers, MLAs, MPs, and senior leaders to discuss the winning approach for the upcoming by-elections in Karnataka’s three assembly constituencies. “With 136 seats in our favour already in the government, there is no way we can lose in the three assembly constituencies in the November elections,” a source in the Congress research team told Hans India.

However, since Chennapatna is still a Vokkaliga stronghold and both BJP and JDS have fielded a Vokkaliga candidate in Nikhil Kumaraswamy who also has a certain degree of upper hand being a member of the Deve Gowda family and also from film background, while CP Yogishwar, the Congress candidate, has been known as a political rolling stone has a slight disadvantage on that count. On Sunday, in a video meeting held at the CM’s official residence, Krishna underscored the importance of securing victories in these by-elections as a point of prestige for the Congress party. Each leader was instructed to take the by-election responsibilities seriously and commit themselves fully to campaign efforts.

CM Siddaramaiah emphasised the need to demonstrate that the Congress government remains popular among voters. He urged ministers, legislators, and MPs to tackle opposition criticism by securing strong results in these elections, which have turned into a litmus test for the ruling government.

The gathering resolved to present a united front against the BJP-JD(S) alliance, which is contesting the elections together. Leaders were instructed to set aside personal tasks and remain stationed in assigned constituencies and booths until the campaign concluded.

Highlighting the symbolic significance of these elections, Siddaramaiah called upon leaders to prioritise electoral work above all else, stressing unity and dedicated effort. The by-elections, which are scheduled for Channapattana, Shiggaon, and Sandur constituencies, have been termed essential by the party, with D.K. Shivakumar outlining the roles of each minister, MLA, and MP in their respective regions to maximise impact.