Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar may contest from Channapatna seat that Kumaraswamy vacated
DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said he may have little or no option but to contest from Channapatna in the bypolls if the party and people decided that way.
The seat in Ramanagara district has fallen vacant after the resignation of HD Kumaraswamy, who won from Mandya in the recent Lok Sabha election and became a union minister.
Shivakumar, who is also the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), told media persons that Channapatna had always been at the centre of his heart as it was part of the erstwhile Sathanur assembly constituency he had won from. “My political career started from there. The people of Channapatna have been with me through my tough times and, I have a debt to repay.”
Speculations are rife that Shivakumar would contest from Channapatna and if elected, will vacate his current Kanakapura seat in favour of his brother DK Suresh, a three-time MP who lost from Bengaluru Rural in the Lok Sabha polls. The senior Congress leader, however, did not confirm that Suresh would succeed him in Kanakapura in the event of his resigning the seat saying the party had not discussed it yet.
Shivakumar, who visited a famous local temple at Channapatna and addressed local leaders and voters said there was now an opportunity to develop Channapatna in the same way he developed Kanakapura.
He later visited Channapatna and addressed local leaders and voters there and told them he would take a decision soon on contesting from there. He also said he had drawn up a blueprint to develop the constituency. The
