<p>Bengaluru: The Hiriyur Assembly seat having fallen vacant following the death of Minister D Sudhakar, political parties are already chalking out plans for the byelection.</p>.<p>In fact, the JD(S) is hoping to field its candidate in the byelection given the BJP’s recent electoral reverses in the byelections to Davanagere South and Bagalkot Assembly seats.</p>.<p>Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy is learnt to have discussed the possibility of fielding a JD(S) member as the alliance’s candidate at a recent meeting with party leaders and senior functionaries, including the presidents of district units. Kumaraswamy reportedly sought an assessment of the party’s chances in the byelection from the functionaries in the party’s Chitradurga unit.</p>.<p>“The byelection was one of the key issues discussed at the recent party meeting. Kumaraswamy expressed confidence of convincing the BJP top brass to allow JD(S) to field its candidate in the Hiryur bypoll. He sought the opinion of the party leaders from Chitradurga as well,” said one JD(S) leader who was in attendance at the meeting.</p>.<p>Given the BJP’s poor showing at the recent hustings, JD(S) leaders are of the opinion that the saffron party may not oppose the idea.</p>.<p>In the 2023 Assembly elections, JD(S) candidate Raveendrappa came in third in Hiriyur, polling 38,686 votes and securing 19.34% of the vote share. The senior JD(S) leader admitted that securing a victory in Hiryur would not be an easy task. </p>.JD(S) to fight Bengaluru civic polls alongside BJP .<p>“But if we work hard, and if our party member is fielded as the alliance candidate, we will definitely win. In the 2013 elections, the JD(S) candidate came in second. Our party has its own votebank in the constituency,” the senior leader added.</p>.<p>On the other hand, the BJP is in a vulnerable position in the constituency in the wake of former Hiryur MLA K Poornima joining the Congress.</p>.<p>However, not all JD(S) leaders are optimistic about the party’s chances. Some of them have cautioned Kumaraswamy about the sympathy factor that is bound to work in the Congress’s favour, more so if the ruling party fields a member of the late minister’s family.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the byelection to the Dharwad Assembly seat, vacated following Vinay Kulkarni’s disqualification from the House, was also discussed at the JD(S) meeting. “It’s easy for our party leaders to ask that our candidates be fielded in both the seats,” said the senior JD(S) leader.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Hiriyur Assembly seat having fallen vacant following the death of Minister D Sudhakar, political parties are already chalking out plans for the byelection.</p>.<p>In fact, the JD(S) is hoping to field its candidate in the byelection given the BJP’s recent electoral reverses in the byelections to Davanagere South and Bagalkot Assembly seats.</p>.<p>Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy is learnt to have discussed the possibility of fielding a JD(S) member as the alliance’s candidate at a recent meeting with party leaders and senior functionaries, including the presidents of district units. Kumaraswamy reportedly sought an assessment of the party’s chances in the byelection from the functionaries in the party’s Chitradurga unit.</p>.<p>“The byelection was one of the key issues discussed at the recent party meeting. Kumaraswamy expressed confidence of convincing the BJP top brass to allow JD(S) to field its candidate in the Hiryur bypoll. He sought the opinion of the party leaders from Chitradurga as well,” said one JD(S) leader who was in attendance at the meeting.</p>.<p>Given the BJP’s poor showing at the recent hustings, JD(S) leaders are of the opinion that the saffron party may not oppose the idea.</p>.<p>In the 2023 Assembly elections, JD(S) candidate Raveendrappa came in third in Hiriyur, polling 38,686 votes and securing 19.34% of the vote share. The senior JD(S) leader admitted that securing a victory in Hiryur would not be an easy task. </p>.JD(S) to fight Bengaluru civic polls alongside BJP .<p>“But if we work hard, and if our party member is fielded as the alliance candidate, we will definitely win. In the 2013 elections, the JD(S) candidate came in second. Our party has its own votebank in the constituency,” the senior leader added.</p>.<p>On the other hand, the BJP is in a vulnerable position in the constituency in the wake of former Hiryur MLA K Poornima joining the Congress.</p>.<p>However, not all JD(S) leaders are optimistic about the party’s chances. Some of them have cautioned Kumaraswamy about the sympathy factor that is bound to work in the Congress’s favour, more so if the ruling party fields a member of the late minister’s family.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the byelection to the Dharwad Assembly seat, vacated following Vinay Kulkarni’s disqualification from the House, was also discussed at the JD(S) meeting. “It’s easy for our party leaders to ask that our candidates be fielded in both the seats,” said the senior JD(S) leader.</p>
