<p>Bengaluru: The ruling Congress is set to field Umesh Meti, son of late H Y Meti for bypoll to Bagalkot constituency. However, the party is yet to decide on a candidate for Davangere South. </p>.<p>Umesh emerged as the choice with warring family members arriving at a consensus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s intervention.</p>.<p>In Davangere South, the Shamanur family was adamant to retain the seat within the family after the demise of veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, while the minority leaders led by Housing minister Zameer Ahmed Khan too demanded the ticket citing a significant Muslim population.</p>.<p>Samarth Shamanur, 27-year-old grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa filed his nomination on Friday, even before the party officially announced its candidate. The move did not go well with the minority leaders. Some leaders also pointed out that Shivashankarappa had earlier indicated that the seat would go to a Muslim candidate after his<br />tenure.</p>.<p>Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar downplayed Samarth’s early nomination, stating that Horticulture Minister S S Mallikarjun (Samarth’s father) had clarified it was filed only because it happened to be an “auspicious” day and would be withdrawn if the party decided otherwise.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the demand for greater political representation gained traction among the minority community, with leaders arguing that Davangere South with 85,000 Muslim voters remains one of the few constituencies where their claim is strong. They, however, expressed hope that the issue would be resolved amicably to avoid a split in votes.</p>.<p>AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala held back-to-back meetings over the past two days, including with minority leaders, and finally managed to convince them to back out. </p>.<p>“We wanted to discuss in detail as even a single party worker’s opinion matters. We will declare the candidates tonight or tomorrow morning,” he told reporters.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The ruling Congress is set to field Umesh Meti, son of late H Y Meti for bypoll to Bagalkot constituency. However, the party is yet to decide on a candidate for Davangere South. </p>.<p>Umesh emerged as the choice with warring family members arriving at a consensus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s intervention.</p>.<p>In Davangere South, the Shamanur family was adamant to retain the seat within the family after the demise of veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, while the minority leaders led by Housing minister Zameer Ahmed Khan too demanded the ticket citing a significant Muslim population.</p>.<p>Samarth Shamanur, 27-year-old grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa filed his nomination on Friday, even before the party officially announced its candidate. The move did not go well with the minority leaders. Some leaders also pointed out that Shivashankarappa had earlier indicated that the seat would go to a Muslim candidate after his<br />tenure.</p>.<p>Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar downplayed Samarth’s early nomination, stating that Horticulture Minister S S Mallikarjun (Samarth’s father) had clarified it was filed only because it happened to be an “auspicious” day and would be withdrawn if the party decided otherwise.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the demand for greater political representation gained traction among the minority community, with leaders arguing that Davangere South with 85,000 Muslim voters remains one of the few constituencies where their claim is strong. They, however, expressed hope that the issue would be resolved amicably to avoid a split in votes.</p>.<p>AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala held back-to-back meetings over the past two days, including with minority leaders, and finally managed to convince them to back out. </p>.<p>“We wanted to discuss in detail as even a single party worker’s opinion matters. We will declare the candidates tonight or tomorrow morning,” he told reporters.</p>
