Congress's 3-0 Karnataka bypoll sweep gives CM Siddaramaiah a lifeline

BENGALURU: Congress's 3-0 clean sweep of Karnataka bypolls Saturday is as much a bulwark for CM Siddaramaiah amid a corruption scandal as it is a blow to BJP-JDS alliance . The governing party retained its stronghold of Sandur and wrested Shiggaon and Channapatna from BJP and JDS respectively, the latter two at the expense of third-generation scions of Gowda and Bommai families. "Kamala (lotus) belongs to the lake, and JDS to the field.

This victory is a rejection of baseless allegations against CM Siddaramaiah. It's a prelude to what we will achieve in 2028 assembly elections and a message to BJP-JDS to focus on development, not false claims," deputy CM and state Congress president D K Shivakumar said. Congress now has 138 MLAs in the 224-strong assembly, more than double BJP's 66; JDS has 18.



Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of state JDS chief HD Kumaraswamy and grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda, suffered his third straight electoral defeat; while Bharath Bommai, son of Haveri BJP MP and ex-CM Basavaraj Bommai, lost at Shiggaon on his poll debut. For Siddaramaiah, who has been facing calls for his resignation over Muda land-swap case in which he and his wife have been implicated, the bypoll verdict suggests a happy consolidation of "Ahinda" (Dalit, Muslim and OBC) votes..