Voting under way in bypolls to Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur Assemby seats in K’taka

BENGALURU: Voting is under way for the bypolls in three Assembly constituencies — Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon — in the state on Wednesday. Both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP-JD(S) combine have expressed confidence of winning all the three seats.

NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy on voting day in Channapatna.

Of the three Assembly constituencies, Channapatna is the most closely watched where Congress’ C P Yogeshwar, a five-time MLA, is pitted against the NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Yogeshwar had switched to the Congresss ahead of the election. Political watchers say the voting percentage in Channapatna seat will determine the fortunes of the two candidates.

Voters at a booth in Sandur.

In 2018, Channapatna recorded 85.86 voting percentage which slightly decreased to 85.27 per cent in 2023. Both camps are hinging their bets on a good turnout this time around too.

Haveri-Gadag MP Basavaraj Bommai and his son Bharat Bommai, who is the BJP candidate, at a polling booth in Shiggaon on Wednesday.

The Channapatna seat was earlier held by Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy, who had given up the seat in favour of her son. Kumaraswamy had defeated Yogeshwar in the 2018 and 2023 Assembly polls from the seat. The seat fell vacant after Kumaraswamy won from the Mandya parliamentary segment in the last Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP has fielded former Chief Minister and Haveri-Gadag MP Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharath Bommai from Shiggaon. He is facing Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. In Sandur, where another close close battle is on the cards, Congress has fielded E Annapurna, wife of MP E Tukaram, against BJP’s Bangaru Hanumanthu. The bypoll results for the Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna seats will be announced on November 23.