With the bypoll results of Karnataka on the cusp, along with the four states’ and a union territory, the uncertainties seem to be in the air about Congress’ hold in the two constituencies of Bagalkot and Davanagere South. The demise of two Congress MLAs, HY Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa is the reason for the by-election in the state.
Close contest expected as BJP eyes gains
While BJP spokesperson Prakash claimed that the BJP would “100 per cent” win the seats in the two constituencies, Congress spokesperson Shankar considered it to be a “very close fight.” Bagalkot or Northern Karnataka, in general, has increasingly emerged as a stronghold of the BJP so there is a higher chance of the party winning there, according to political analyst Sandeep Shastri. However, the current candidate, Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, fielded by the BJP was defeated in 2023.
This move from the party comes in hope of a different and favorable outcome this time. Speaking of Davanagere, there is a religious dimension to it because the seat has a significant minority presence and that the minority representatives were claiming that they should be their seat this time, according to Sandeep.
Minority representation debate in Davanagere
Since Davanagere constituency also happens to reside minorities in large numbers unrest was sensed among the muslim communities there regarding there not being a muslim candidate contesting. To this, Shankar said that there was a collective effort made and that a muslim candidate contested in the past, and he’d secured 26,000 in total. The winning possibility and all the various factors were considered before finalizing the candidate, he added. He assured that there will always be people from different communities.
BJP targets Congress government’s performance
The BJP spokesperson claimed that the current government is losing popularity and that there are ineffective ministers who do not rise to the occasion and aspirations of the people. He added that a BJP win would boost the party’s momentum.
Internal dynamics within Congress under scrutiny
Meanwhile, talks about “internal power struggle” within the Congress party have been of concern lately. There is long-term indecisiveness in the top leadership, political analyst Harish added. The Congress High Command is thick-skinned and they might not change anything in terms of approach regardless of the results, according to him.
Congress defends leadership, calls it collective functioning
On the other hand, the Congress Spokesperson said that it was a natural thing to happen in any political party. “Since the government is competing almost three years now in May, naturally, there are many people who want to become ministers, and there are some people who want to be promoted as DCM or CM.” He also added that it is a collective leadership. And that DK Shivakumar was a very skilled and organized and resourceful man, and Siddaramaiah is an experienced and able administrator. The combination of both of them is good for the party.
Concerns over governance and economy
The Congress has not delivered in terms of law and order and economy, and although there is a 6.6 per cent growth, the state is significantly on loans, Harish opined.
The by-election results are coming out on May 4, along with the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, and Puduchery election results.
(The writers are interns with businessline)
Published on May 4, 2026