The by-elections to three Lok Sabha and two Assembly constituencies on November 3 in Karnataka have set off a turf war between the ruling Janata Dal Secular (JD(S))-Congress coalition and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The results of the by-elections will be reflective of the people’s mood ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress and the JDS(S) held Jamakhandi and Ramanagaram Assembly seats, and two of the three Lok Sabha seats — Shivamogga and Ballari — were held by the BJP.

The third Lok Sabha seat — Mandya — was represented by the JD(S).

Why bypolls?

The by-elections to these Assembly seats are being held due to the death of MLA Siddu Nyamagowda in Jamakhandi and the resignation of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy from the Ramanagaram seat (he contested from two constituencies).

Similarly, the by-elections to Lok Sabha seats were necessitated by the resignation of MPs who were elected to the State Assembly.

While the JD(S) is contesting in Shivamogga, the Congress is trying its luck in Ballari. The coalition partners have been busy campaigning in these two Lok Sabha seats.

The intention is to upset the political calculations of the BJP and bring down the morale of party workers ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The BJP, too, is focussing its energy on making inroads into the JD(S) bastion of Mandya.

The political tussle has resulted in a surcharged atmosphere, where a war of words has become the norm

Meanwhile, L Chandrashekhar, the BJP’s official candidate in Ramanagaram, quit the party and joined Congress just two days before the bypolls, leaving the saffron party red-faced.

Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy, representing the JD(S), is now expected to win the seat virtually unopposed.

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