With the saffron party leaders riding high on the party’s thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Congress in the state has decided to unleash an aggressive campaign in the byelections to Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly constituencies.

Sources in the state Congress said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has decided to deploy more than a dozen ministers in each of the constituencies to oversee the party’s campaign.

Close to 50 Congress legislators will also be roped in for the byelection work. Each minister will be given specific responsibility during the campaign, and they will camp in the constituencies till the byelections are over, the sources said.

On April 9

The byelections are scheduled to be held on April 9. The byelection to Nanjangud is necessitated due to resignation of V Srinivas Prasad as the Congress MLA. Gundlupet is facing the byelection following the death of H S Mahadeva Prasad.

The candidates

The Congress has decided to field Kalale Keshavamurthy in Nanjangud, while Geetha, wife of late Mahadeva Prasad, is the party’s candidate in Gundlupet. BJP may field C S Niranjankumar for the Gundlupet seat, while Srinivas Prasad is the party candidate in Nanjangud.
 
Prestige issue

Winning the byelections is a matter of prestige for the ruling party in general and the chief minister in particular. The byelections results are seen as a litmus test for the state government’s performance.

On the other end, principal Opposition party BJP led by B S Yeddyurappa is leaving no stone unturned to win both the seats.

The sources said the ruling party will step up its campaign after March 21, the last day for filing nomination papers. The party started its campaign on Sunday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit the campaign trail in Gundlupet and Nanjangud.