New Delhi/Bengaluru, March 19 The BJP announced its candidates for the upcoming Assembly bypolls in Karnataka's Bagalkote and Davangere South constituencies on Thursday, which have fallen vacant, necessitating fresh elections.
The party has fielded Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkote and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South, following approval from its Central Election Committee.
The decision was made at a meeting of the BJP's Central Election Committee held on March 18, chaired by party leader Nitin Nabin, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other members present.
The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, which resulted in vacancies in the Davanagere South and Bagalkote Assembly segments, respectively.
The BJP said the names were finalized after careful deliberations by the committee for various assembly by-elections being held across states in 2026.
The announcement comes amidst heightened political activity in Karnataka, with parties gearing up for the bypolls that are seen as a key test of strength at the constituency level.
The relatives of Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti are demanding Congress tickets.
The Congress has not yet announced its candidates, although Meti's family members met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also Congress state unit president, and demanded a ticket.
Siddaramaiah told reporters on Wednesday that three members from the Meti family had sought the ticket—Mallikarjun, Umesh, and Mahadev—to contest from Bagalkote.
S S Mallikarjun, Shivashankarappa's son, who is the Congress MLA for Davangere North, is also demanding a ticket for his son, Samarth Shamanur, for Davangere South, according to Congress sources.
"It is highly likely that Samarth will get the ticket," a Congress leader told