Karnataka Chincholi and Kundagol assembly bye-polls on May 19, 25 candidates in fray for two AC .

 

Prominent among the candidates for Chincholi are Avinash Umesh Jadhav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subhash V Rathod of the Congress and Gautam Bomnalli of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

 

Avinash is the son of Umesh Jadhav, whose resignation from the seat necessitated the bye-election.

 

Umesh Jadhav quit the Congress and joined the BJP in early March. He had contested the Gulbarga (SC) constituency against Congress leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

 

Besides the three main contestants, 11 Independents, including two women, are in the race along with three others.

 

In the Kundagol contest, Kusumavati Channabasappa is contesting from the Congress against S.I. Chikkanagoudar of the BJP. The remaining six, including a woman, are Independents.

 

The seat was held by state Minister C.S. Shivalli, whose death on 22nd March , necessitated the bye-poll. The Congress has fielded his widow.

 

A three-time legislator, Chikkanagoudar lost to Shivalli by a margin of 633 votes in the May 2018 Assembly elections. He is also related to BJP’s state unit president and Ex CM  B.S. Yeddyurappa, who will campaign for him.

 

Congress Legislative Party leader and Ex CM Siddaramaiah and state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao will campaign for Kusumavati.

 

Vote count is on 23rd May 2019 along with that of 28 Lok Sabha seats for which polling was held in two phases on 18th April and  23rd April. By agency.