Last year, RPI leader  S Rajendran, taking advantage of the rebellion within the Congress party, had won the seat. But this time, he is trying to strike a deal with the Congress to contest from this seat; but a section of the Congress is said to be against this.
If the Congress does enter into an agreement, then Rajendran is definite to contest under the RPI symbol.
Eight Congress members have applied for a ticket to fight the assembly polls. Following delimitation, the Betamangala constituency does not exist any more, and the Kaysamballi and Betamangala hoblis belong to the KGF constituency. Zilla Panchayat president M Ramachandra, who lost the last assembly elections, has applied for a ticket to contest from the KGF constituency.
Local Congress leaders Jayapal, Sampath Kumar, Jaya Pandian and others have also applied for a ticket, and the million dollar question is: who will the high command choose?
Former legislator Bhaktavatsalam of the JD(S) is sure to contest - with no one else from the JD(S) willing to contest, Bhaktavatsalam being given the ticket is definite; the fact that K Rajendran has now joined the BJP has also worked to Bhaktavatsalam’s advantage.
It is still not clear which candidate will be fielded by the BJP. The party has quite a few strong aspirants, and K Rajendran might not get a ticket easily. Sampangi, who does not belong to the BJP, has reportedly been lobbying for a ticket among the more influential leaders, but the local leaders are yet to give their consent.
The left parties - who relied heavily on the working classes when the gold mines were operational - are yet to announce their decision.