Bengaluru: The Congress party has stepped up its organizational preparations for the impending by-elections to the Davanagere South and Bagalkot Assembly constituencies by appointing observers and forming two supervisory committees.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D. K. Shivakumar has constituted two separate committees consisting of 16 leaders each to monitor and coordinate the party’s campaign in the constituencies.
The by-elections have become necessary following the demise of senior leaders who represented the seats. The Davanagere South Assembly seat fell vacant after the death of veteran Congress leader and former minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa, while the Bagalkot constituency was vacated due to the demise of former minister V. S. Meti.
According to party sources, the committees will coordinate campaign activities, mobilise party workers, and oversee election strategies at the grassroots level to ensure organisational unity during the bypoll campaign.
For the Davanagere by-election, Congress leader Manjunath Bhandary has been appointed as the convenor. The committee includes district in-charge minister S. S. Mallikarjun along with several cabinet colleagues and senior party leaders.
Ministers K. H. Muniyappa, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Eshwar Khandre, Krishna Byre Gowda, Sharan Prakash Patil, Priyank Kharge, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Santosh Lad and Madhu Bangarappa are among those included in the panel.
Other members include Legislative Council chief whip Salim Ahmed, former minister Tanveer Sait, former MLC V. R. Sudarshan and former ministers H. M. Revanna and H. Anjaneya.
For the Bagalkot bypoll, KPCC working president Vasanth Kumar has been appointed as the convenor of the committee. District in-charge minister R. B. Thimmapur is also part of the panel overseeing the election preparations.
The Bagalkot committee also includes senior ministers such as Satish Jarkiholi, M. B. Patil, Shivanand Patil, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Bairati Suresh and Rahim Khan.
MLAs and MLCs including C. S. Nadagouda, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, F. H. Jakkappanavar, Basanagouda Badarli, former minister Rajashekhar Patil and former MLC Somanna Bevinamarad have also been appointed to assist in the campaign.
Party leaders believe the committees will ensure coordinated efforts among ministers, legislators and grassroots workers to strengthen the Congress campaign in both constituencies ahead of the by-elections.
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