Karantaka bypolls: Muslim unrest gives Congress a scare, trims margin by 80% in Shamanur bastion

BENGALURU: Congress retained Davanagere South assembly seat but barely, as minority unrest and internal dissent sharply reduced its victory margin in what has long been a Shamanur family stronghold. Congress candidate Samarth Mallikarjun, grandson of late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, trailed in eight of the 21 rounds of counting before securing a win by 5,708 votes — a steep drop from the 27,888-vote margin recorded by his grandfather in 2023. Shivashankarappa had comfortably held the seat even during the party's poor performance in 2018. However, this time, the narrow margin and split in minority votes have emerged as key concerns for Congress. The result has exposed visible cracks in Congress' minority support base in a constituency with an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 Muslim voters. As many as 14 Muslim candidates were in the fray, leading to a significant division of votes. Collectively, these candidates polled 21,510 votes with Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) candidate Afsar Kodlipete alone securing 18,975, far exceeding the 6,000-odd votes the party secured in previous elections. Sources say the spike suggests possible backing from disgruntled Congress functionaries. Congress has already initiated disciplinary action against some of them. Senior functionaries acknowledged the setback. Both chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar admitted the party struggled to handle minority anger, although Shivakumar insisted party workers remained united during the campaign. Party functionaries on the ground pointed to internal resentment and sabotage as contributing factors. "However, what saved us were women, especially from minority communities. They solidly backed us," said party functionaries. BJP's decision to field Srinivas Dasakariyappa, an ST, also aided Congress by helping it consolidate Lingayat votes, partially offsetting the dip in Muslim support. Congress MLC Saleem Ahmed offered a more positive assessment, saying the party overcame challenges through coordinated efforts. "We were able to quell unrest among minorities," he said. "We reached out to them and ensured they stayed with the party. The guarantee schemes helped ensure the popularity of the govt was not hurt," he said.