Of the three assembly constituencies that went to bypolls on Wednesday, Channapatna recorded a major voter turnout with 88.81%, closely followed by Shiggaon at 80.48%, and Sandur with 76.24%, according to the provisional turnout data by the Election Commission of India (ECI) till 10.30 pm.
Over 700,000 voters were eligible to participate across roughly 770 polling stations, with 45 candidates competing for the vacant seats. The by-elections were required after former representatives of these constituencies — E Tukaram of Congress, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) — were elected to the Lok Sabha in May.
Security was ramped up in all three constituencies to ensure a smooth voting process, and each constituency featured a distinct contest.
In Sandur and Shiggaon, a straightforward rivalry between the ruling Congress and the BJP dominated, while Channapatna witnessed a clash between Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), which recently joined the NDA.
“We (Congress) will win all the three seats. I have campaigned in the three segments. Looking at the response from the people, I’m confident that we will win all three seats,” chief minister Siddaramaiah told media in Mysuru.
Among the constituencies, Channapatna has drawn significant attention, with Congress candidate CP Yogeshwara, a former five-time MLA and recent BJP defector, competing against JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of HD Kumaraswamy and grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
Yogeshwara, after casting his vote, expressed confidence, noting the “good atmosphere” and strong local support for Congress. “My personal stake is involved in the election along with that of the Congress party and the government,” he said, adding that Channapatna is also the home district of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy told media, “For the last 18 days, the people of Channapatna have given me their confidence. I am certain that the efforts of HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy will contribute to my victory. The youth are with me, and I’m confident the people of Channapatna will bless me.”
In the 2018 and 2023 assembly elections, HD Kumaraswamy defeated Yogeshwara in this very seat. The seat became vacant after HDK won the Mandya parliamentary seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In Shiggaon, Bharath Bommai of BJP is taking on Congress’s Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan in a direct contest. Pathan previously ran against Basavaraj Bommai in the 2023 assembly elections.
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai expressed optimism about his son’s success, but accused the Congress of misusing “government machinery, money power, and caste” to influence the campaign.
Bommai’s son Bharath Bommai is the NDA candidate for bypoll to the Shiggaon assembly constituency. BJP candidate from Shiggaon assembly constituency Bharat Bommai on Wednesday said that he has gotten a tremendous response in the constituency. “The response has been tremendous. Wherever I’ve gone in the constituency, the love and affection that people have shown, I’ll be indebted to them for my life,” he added.
Despite attempts by the authorities to convince them, some families residing at Dandinpet in Savanur boycotted the polling in Shiggaon in protest against not being given record of occupancy rights to them.
The residents said they have been residing at Dandinpet for the last 70 years. However, instead of giving them record of occupancy rights, the Revenue Department had given the land to Anjuman-e-Islam and so they had decided against voting.
In Sandur, Congress candidate E Annapurna, wife of Bellary MP E Tukaram, is contesting from her husband’s vacated seat. Her main opponent is BJP’s Bangaru Hanumanthu, the state ST Morcha president and a close associate of G Janardhana Reddy, a former mining baron and influential figure in the region.
