Bengaluru: Governance in Karnataka has slowed significantly as the political executive shifts its focus to high-stakes bypolls in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, with ministers spending weeks on campaign duties.All cabinet ministers, including CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, are engaged in electioneering. Congress has deployed around 20 ministers in Bagalkot and another 10 in Davanagere South, assigning them specific regions based on caste equations, financial influence and mobilisation strength, party insiders said. That is not all. To tighten its grip, the party has assigned two MLAs to each gram panchayat and two ministers to every zilla panchayat segment.The campaign is being closely monitored by the top leadership, with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar camping in the constituencies for the past week, reviewing the strategy and leading outreach efforts.The scale of deployment has raised concerns within the administration, with routine decision-making and project clearances seeing delays. Officials indicated that governance has taken a backseat as the ministers remain stationed in the constituencies rather than in Bengaluru.“They (Congress) are scared as their internal assessment has given BJP an edge in both constituencies,” said opposition leader in the legislative council Chalavadi Narayanswamy.The enforcement of the model code of conduct (MCC) has compounded the slowdown. MCC bars new policy decisions, delays approvals for development works and diverts administrative machinery to election management.The April 9 bypolls, necessitated by the deaths of incumbent MLAs HY Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, have turned into prestige contests for the governing Congress after internal assessments indicated a close fight.Public works minister Satish Jarkiholi, a close aide of the chief minister, has been camping in Bagalkot for over two weeks, overseeing the campaign strategy for Congress candidate Umesh Meti. With less than a week to polling, the party has deployed over 40 MLAs and 20 ministers in the constituency to consolidate its vote base.Bagalkot has around 2.8 lakh voters, split almost evenly between urban and rural areas. Women voters outnumber men and are expected to play a decisive role. The constituency includes about 70,000 Lingayats, 40,000 Kurubas, 35,000 Muslims, along with SC, ST and other communities. “So the party has accordingly chosen ministers from these communities to campaign and strategise,” said a senior party functionary.Congress is also banking on the entry of Mallikarjun Charantimath, the younger brother of BJP candidate Veeranna Charantimath, who had secured around 10,000 votes as a rebel in 2023.For Davanagere South, Congress has deployed a 10-member team of ministers and 30 senior MLAs to manage the campaign in what is considered a party stronghold. It has fielded Shivashankarappa’s 27-year old grandson Samarth Mallikarjun.His father and district in-charge minister SS Mallikarjun is overseeing the overall coordination and managing his son’s campaign. A panel constituted by KPCC president DK Shivakumar for the bypolls includes legislative council chief whip Saleem Ahmed, MLA Tanveer Sait, former MLC VR Sudarshan, and former ministers HM Revanna and H Anjaneya.However, the continued absence of housing minister and prominent Muslim face BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan has raised concerns within the party, with sources indicating he is likely to join the campaign in the coming days following a nudge from the party leadership in Delhi.Some ministers, including Shivakumar, Zameer and KJ George, have also been making on-and-off visits to neighbouring Kerala to campaign for Congress candidates.
