The stage is set for a heated political battle in Karnataka where the ruling BJP, Congress and JD (S) will lock horns come May. While the three parties are charting strategies and finalising their candidates, some old guards are also figuring out seats to contest from.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already relocated from Badami to Kolar. There are rumours that Siddaramaiah may contest from the Varuna assembly constituency along with Kolar. According to reports, former CM HD Kumaraswamy will also enter the fray from two different constituencies, as he did in the 2018 elections.
In 2018, Kumaraswamy contested from Ramanagara and Channapatnam and won both constituencies. After the result, he resigned as Ramanagara MLA. Anita Kumaraswamy was elected as an MLA in the by-election held later.
According to reports, close friends suggested Kumaraswamy file his nomination on both seats to be on the safe side. However, Kumaraswamy has not yet made his decision public. Mandya’s residents are reportedly pressuring Kumaraswamy to run for office in their district.
Kumaraswamy’s decision also depends on who the Congress will field in Channapatnam. He has suggested conducting an internal survey in Channapatnam. Kumaraswamy is likely to decide whether to contest in Channapatnam depending on the survey report and who the Congress candidate is. So Kumaraswamy will resort to a wait-and-see strategy until the election date is announced.
Kumaraswamy may be taking a leaf out of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s book here. Senior leaders of West Bengal had advised Mamata Banerjee to contest from two constituencies in the 2021 assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee contested from Nandigram and lost against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. Later, Mamata Banerjee, who contested the by-election for the Bhawanipur constituency, won. Mamata Banerjee won by a margin of 58,389 votes against BJP candidate Priyanka Tibarewal.
A few days ago, Ramanagara MLA Anita Kumaraswamy said that she would give up her constituency to her son Nikhil while campaigning for the election. Accordingly, the name of Nikhil Kumaraswamy has been announced as the candidate for Ramanagara in the first list of JD(S) candidates.
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