Davangere, 3 April

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday defended the Congress’ decision to field family members of two deceased MLAs in Assembly by-elections, asserting that the move follows established political practice.

Addressing criticism from the BJP over alleged dynastic politics, he said the party had followed a "common practice" in selecting candidates for the upcoming bypolls in the State.

The bypolls were necessitated by the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and HY Meti, who represented the Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies, respectively.

The Congress has fielded Samarth, Shivashankarappa’s grandson and son of Minister SS Mallikarjun, in Davangere, and Umesh Meti in Bagalkot. They will face BJP’s T Dasakariyappa in Davangere South and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath in Bagalkot.

Siddaramaiah said that minorities have supported Congress “since Independence” and “this election is no different", expressing confidence that his party would retain the seats.

Commenting on elections in other states, he said Opposition parties are likely to perform strongly in several regions. But in West Bengal, the ruling TMC will retain power; in Tamil Nadu, the DMK will win; and in Kerala, the UDF is likely to emerge victorious.

"In Assam and other states, Opposition parties are likely to perform well. The BJP will not win everywhere," he said.