BENGALURU: Following the nominations filed by Congress candidate CP Yogeshwara for the Channapatna by-poll in Karnataka on Thursday afternoon, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated that there was no dissatisfaction among the party leaders or workers regarding the Congress candidate.
Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, Shivakumar mentioned that earlier, some wanted DK Suresh to contest for the seat; however, the decision for Yogeshwara to run was made in the party’s best interest.
He further noted that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and he were present during Yogeshwara’s nomination filing today, and they will announce the candidate for Shiggaon once they receive confirmation.
“There is no dissatisfaction whatsoever. Some wanted DK Suresh to contest, but they are fine with the new choice. Suresh was, in fact, in charge of shortlisting candidates for Channapatna. We have made this decision keeping in mind the party’s interests,” he said.
“CM and I will take part in the nomination filing at Channapatna today. We haven’t received any information on the Shiggaon candidate yet and we will announce the candidate as soon as we receive confirmation. We are conducting an internal survey and we are also taking the opinions of certain people,” Shivakumar added.
Earlier today, Congress candidate CP Yogeshwara filed his nomination for the Channapatna by-poll in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar.
After the nomination filing, CM Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that Yogeshwara would win the by-poll. “All our leaders and our party are 200 per cent confident that CP Yogeshwara will win,” Siddharamaiah said.
CP Yogeshwara is a five-time former MLA from Channapatna; the seat was vacated by Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy after he won the Lok Sabha polls. Former BJP leader CP Yogeshwar on Wednesday joined the Congress party in the presence of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
The JDS will be fielding a candidate from the seat on behalf of the NDA, which forced Yogeshwar to seek refuge in the Congress.
The Channapattnna seat is seen as a big fight between the states’ two most powerful Vokkaliga leaders, Deputy CM Dk Shivakumar and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
The Congress party released its list of candidates for the state assembly by-elections in Karnataka, selecting E Annapurna for the Sandur (ST) seat and CP Yogeshwara for Channapatna.
Earlier on October 15, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced by-polls for 48 Assembly constituencies and two Parliamentary seats, scheduled to occur in two phases alongside the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections.
Voting for the first phase, covering 47 Assembly constituencies and the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala will take place on November 13. The second phase will occur on November 20 for the Kedarnath Assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and the Nanded parliamentary seat in Maharashtra. The counting of votes will take place on November 23. (ANI)