Senior leaders from BJP, Cong campaign as Davanagere South bypoll heats up

Davanagere: The BJP and the Congress on Tuesday intensified campaigning for the Davanagere South assembly bypoll, with senior leaders from both parties canvassing support for their respective candidates.Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, opposition leader R Ashoka, BJP leaders Sunil Kumar and others campaigned for BJP candidate Srinivas T Dasakariyappa.On the Congress side, deputy chief minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, women and child development minister Laxmi Hebbalkar and other party functionaries canvassed for Samarth Shamanur.DK Shivakumar clarified that housing minister Zameer Ahmed Khan is a star campaigner for the Congress in the Kerala elections and has been entrusted with several responsibilities there. He said Zameer would join the bypoll campaign after completing his work in Kerala."We are all united in facing the elections. Many leaders from the minority community have already settled in the Davanagere South assembly constituency. The party does not rely on a single person. DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and Zameer Ahmed are not the focus of Congress. The election is based on the party's principles. Congress has made several contributions to the minority community, which is why we have faced criticism from the BJP," he said."The chairmanship of 16 state corporations and boards has been given to the minority community. Congress is making efforts to nurture leadership within the Muslim community. In every election, there are candidates from the Muslim community. Congress votes will not be divided by these independent candidates," he added.Meanwhile, Ashoka on Tuesday released the BJP manifesto for the Davanagere South assembly constituency. After releasing it, he alleged that CM Siddaramaiah was keen on taking loans and claimed that the state govt had borrowed Rs 4.2 lakh crore since 2023.He alleged that Siddaramaiah had borrowed more than any CMs who ruled the state so far, and said that the govt was being referred to as ‘Loan Ramayya'.Ashoka further accused that after Siddaramaiah took charge, he had turned the people of the state into debtors. He said Karnataka's economic situation was in the ICU. The BJP, he said, aimed to make Davanagere South a model constituency, with focus on drinking water, sewage, cleanliness, health and infrastructure.He also alleged that the Congress had denied tickets to Muslims, backward classes and Dalits and given it again to the same family. "The Shamanur family already has the father as a minister and the mother as an MP. Now, the son has been made the byelection candidate. If the Congress candidate wins this time, there will be no representation for the next 50 years in this constituency," Ashoka alleged.