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    Karnataka bypoll: Congress in Davangere, Bagalkot amid rising factionalism
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    Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjun (left) and Umesh Meti

    Davangere, Bagalkot bypolls: Congress bets on ‘next-gen’ kin amid factionalism

    Congress high command clears Samarth Mallikarjun and Umesh Meti for bypoll; Muslim leaders in Davangere South vow a 50,000-vote defeat to protest ‘family politics'

    The Federal
    22 March 2026 1:13 PM IST  (Updated:2026-03-22 08:08:33)

    The Congress high command on Sunday (March 22) announced its official candidates for the by-elections to the Bagalkot and Davangere South assembly constituencies, which have sparked a lot of curiosity in state politics.

    With the approval of the All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, Umesh Meti has been fielded from Bagalkot and Samarth Mallikarjun from Davangere South.

    The ticket for the Davangere South constituency, vacated due to the death of MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, wsd given to his grandson, 27-year-old Samarth Mallikarjun. However, the leaders of the Muslim community, which constitutes 30 per cent of the constituency, have strongly opposed this decision.

    Minority leaders led by Karnataka minister Zameer Ahmed Khan met the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and warned him that they would defeat the Congress candidate by a margin of 50,000 votes. They were opposed to the Shamanur family, highlighting deep-rooted factionalism within the party unit. opposing family politics.

    Open fight in Bagalkot

    Meanwhile, in the Bagalkot constituency, there was an open fight for the ticket between the sons of late MLA HY Meti Mallikarjun - Umesh and Mahadevi.
    To quell this family rebellion, CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar held a late-night meeting and succeeded in reaching a compromise. Finally, based on the family consensus, Umesh Meti was given a ticket with the aim of securing the votes of the Kuruba community.

    Congress strategy

    Amidst the rebellion and internal discontent, the Congress has managed to field two young candidates.
    The ruling party is now confident of winning both the constituencies on the strength of the sympathy wave generated by the demise of its leaders and the government's guarantee schemes. Meanwhile, the state-level leaders are engaged in formulating a strategy to appease the disgruntled leaders of both these constituencies.

    (This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka.)

    Karnataka CongressDavangereBagalkot
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