Nominations for battle royale in Chamundeswari to begin tomorrow

Mysore, Nov 9 (UNI) The filing of nominations for the December four by-elections to the prestigious Chamundeswari constituency in the district of Karnataka, will begin tomorrow.

Chamundeswari, the largest constituency in the district, has turned into a political battleground with stakes running high for former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had resigned the seat won on a JD(S) ticket before joining the Congress.

Though filing of nominations would begin tomorrow, it is still not clear whether Mr Siddaramaiah would lock horns with a common candidate fielded by the coalition partners JD(S) and BJP or would there be a three-cornered contest with both the allies throwing their hat into the ring.

While the JD (S) insists on taking the onus of defeating Mr Siddaramaiah to teach him a lesson for his ''desertion'', the BJP is equally adamant that it would contest the seat, holding on to its second position in the 2004 Assembly elections.

The Congress considered the by-elections as a prestige issue after coming out of the coalition government with the JD(S). All top party leaders are gearing up to camp in the constituency to ensure their candidate Siddaramaiah's victory.

Besides, it is a challenge for Mr Siddaramaiah to drum up support in his home constituency.

While the last date for filing of nominations is November 17, the withdrawal of nominations will be on November 20.

More UNI BSP GD HS VC1945