31 in fray for bypolls to two assembly segments in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A total of 31 candidates, including those of the ruling BJP, Congress and JDS, are in the fray for the November 3 byelections to two assembly constituencies in Karnataka after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday, officials said.

As many as 15 candidates are in the field in Sira in Tumakuru district and 16 in Rajarajeshwari Nagar (R R Nagar) in the city, they said. Six candidates — two in Sira and four in R R Nagar — have withdrawn their nominations after papers of 37 were declared valid during scrutiny on Saturday. Results of the bypolls will be declared on November 10.

The byelection has been necessitated in Sira following the death of JD(S) legislator B Sathyanarayana in August, while the R R Nagar seat here has fallen vacant following the disqualification of the then Congress MLA N Munirathna under the anti-defection law last year.

Radiologist Dr C M Rajesh Gowda, son of former Congress MP C P Mudalagiriyappa, who had recently joined the party, is the ruling BJP”s candidate from Sira. While the Congress has fielded former minister Jayachandra, who had represented the seat in the past, as the candidate from Sira, JD(S) with an eye on sympathy votes has fielded Ammajamma, the wife of late Sathyanarayana.

In R R Nagar, the Congress has given ticket to a fresh face — Kusuma H, wife of late IAS officer D K Ravi. She is pitted against V Krishnamurthy of JD(S) and N Munirathna of the BJP. Munirathna, after his disqualification last year, had joined the BJP. A total of 2,15,693 voters — 1,10,265 men and 1,05,418 women — are eligible to cast their franchise in about 330 polling stations in Sira.

In RR Nagar, 4,60,401 eligible voters are expected to cast their votes in 678 polling stations. Among them, 2,40,061 are men and 2,20,261 are women. A total of 2,034 electronic voting machines with voter- verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) systems will be deployed for the bypolls in two constituencies.

Three categories of voters — those aged above 80, persons with disabilities flagged in the electoral roll and COVID-19 suspects or affected persons — will be allowed to cast postal ballot, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer has said.