JD(S) not to contest Bellary rural bypoll

Bangalore, Nov 10: The JD(S) in Karnataka has decided against contesting the November 30 assembly bye-election to Bellary Rural constituency, from where former BJP leader B Sreeramulu is trying his luck as an independent.

"Taking into account the relevance of contesting this bye-election, the short tenure of the elected member and also the threat of snap polls to the assembly ..in the wake of upheavals in the ruling BJP, it has been decided not to field a candidate", JDS state unit President H D Kumaraswamy said.

While a section of the party's Bellary unit wanted the party to field a candidate, another section was not in favour of contesting, he told reporters here. A meeting of JDS leaders held yesterday discussed the Bellary bypoll and was of the view that it was not necessary for the party to take a plunge in the wake of political uncertainty faced by the BJP government, he said.

Kumaraswamy said the party will not be supporting anyone in the bypoll, scotching speculation that the Gowda outfit will indirectly back the BJP rebel leader Sreeramulu. Besides illegal mining in the state, JDS will continue its fight against "maladministration" of BJP and Congress, Kumaraswamy asserted.

PTI