Shivamogga Lok Sabha bypoll: Prestige at stake for BJP, Congress-JD(S), JD(U) as sons of three former CMs in race

A total of three Lok Sabha seats and two Assembly seats will go to polls on November 3. The bypolls will be held for the Lok Sabha seats of Shivamogga, Bellary (ST) and Mandya, and the Assembly seats of Ramanagaram and Jankhandi. While all the by-polls are crucial for both the ruling coalition of Congress and JD(S) and opposition BJP, it is the Shivamogga parliamentary seat that is keenly watched by everyone, all thanks to the high profile candidates who are trying their luck. The three main contenders in the fray are sons of former chief ministers of Karnataka.

While BY Raghavendra is the son of BS Yeddyurappa, BJP’s state unit president who had served as the CM thrice between 20017 and 2018, the Congress-JD(S) has fielded Madhu Bangarappa who is the son of former CM S Bangarappa. S Bangarappa had served as the CM of the southern state between 1990 and 1992.

Although the main fight is between Raghavendra and Madhu, the third candidate who has made the fight interesting is JD(U) nominee Mahima Patel, son of late CM JH Patel who was in the CM’s office between 1996 and 1999.

Raghavendra had represented the seat in Lok Sabha between 2009 and 2014. In the 2014 polls, he had vacated the seat to allow his father Yeddyurappa to contest from here. However, Yeddyurappa resigned from the chair earlier this year when the assembly polls were held in the state. His resignation necessitated the bypolls.

Though Congress was allotted the Shivamogga seat as per the agreement between the ruling partners, the party decided to handover it to JD(S) because it couldn’t field a strong candidate to take on the BJP. The JD(S) nominated Madhu Bangarappa from here whose father S Bangarappa had represented the same seat four times in the Lok Sabha. According to the party, Madhu is the best bet to take on BJP and the leaders of the coalition are jointly campaigning in Shivamogga to garner votes in favour of the candidate.

Mahima Patel is the candidate of the JD(U). Mahima’s father JH Patel had served as the 15th CM of Karnataka between May 1996 October 1999. Mahima had joined Nitish Kumar’s party last year after the Sharad Yada-led faction of the JD(U) lost the fight in the court.