JD(S) leader and Koppal in-charge Suryanarayan Reddy said that 30-year-old novice Pradeep Patil will be the party’s candidate.
Reddy said the party had to choose Patil over Syed, another aspirant, because of the Lingayat factor. The constituency consists mainly of Lingayat and Kuruba voters.
A bypoll in Koppal was necessitated after Karadi Sanganna, representing JD(S), resigned from his Assembly membership and joined BJP under Operation Lotus.
Sanganna will be filing his nomination papers on Friday. Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and State President K S Eshwarappa are likely to be present.
Koppal will be the 20th Assembly constituency that will be going for bypolls since May 2008 after the BJP came to power in the State.
Published 08 September 2011, 18:20 IST