Congress Snatches Karnataka Bypolls From BJP And JD(S), Sons Of Ex-CMs Lose

The Congress party emerged victorious in all three Assembly bypolls in Karnataka-Shiggaon, Sandur, and Channapatna-defeating candidates from both the BJP and JD(S). Among the defeated candidates were the sons of former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and HD Kumaraswamy.

In Shiggaon By-election 2024 Results: Congress Claims Victory, Defeats Bommai's Son After 30 Years, Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan won by a significant margin of 13,448 votes, defeating BJP's Bharat Bommai, the son of Basavaraj Bommai. In Channapatna, Congress's CP Yogeeswara triumphed over JD(S)'s Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Chief Minister and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, by 25,413 votes. In Sandur, Congress's E Annapoorna claimed victory by 9,649 votes, defeating BJP's Bangara Hanumantha. Annapoorna is the wife of E Tukaram, the Congress MP from Ballari.

The Shiggaon seat was previously held by Basavaraj Bommai, who won the constituency in 2023 before being elected to the Lok Sabha from Haveri, necessitating the bypoll. Channapatna was once represented by HD Kumaraswamy, who had won in the previous election when JD(S) was an ally of Congress. His election to the Lok Sabha triggered the need for the bypoll.

Congress successfully retained Sandur, a seat won by E Tukaram in the last election when he defeated BJP's Shilpa Raghavendra.

With this victory, Congress's tally in the Karnataka Assembly increased to 137 seats. The party's strong performance in the bypolls, despite various allegations against the ruling Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is expected to boost its prospects in future elections.

Following the results, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar attributed the success to Siddaramaiah's leadership and the effective implementation of the party's five guarantees. He described the outcome as a precursor to the 2028 Assembly elections, expressing confidence that Congress would secure another victory then.