Amid waqf row, campaigning for bypolls in Karnataka set to gather steam

BJP leaders R. Ashok, C.T. Ravi, and C.N. Ashwath Naryanan campaigning in Channapatna on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

Amidst a row over the survey of waqf properties in the State that has stirred the political pot, campaigning for three Assembly seats that are going to bypolls is set to gain steam.

The BJP has called for a State-wide protest over the waqf issue on Monday despite the State government clarifying that no property of farmers will be taken away.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar are starting their campaigns on Monday for the bypolls on November 13.

Mr. Siddaramaiah will canvass for the Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan in Shiggaon on Monday and Tuesday addressing election rallies in the constituency, where the party has seen a rebellion of sorts from Sayed Azeem Peer Khadri, who has now withdrawn from the fray.  

The Channapatna and the Shiggaon seats are already witnessing high-profile campaigning since last week, with Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai camping in the constituencies to work for the victory of their sons Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai, respectively. Labour Minister Santosh Lad and BJP leader G. Janardhana Reddy are campaigning for their party candidates in Sandur.

The Deputy Chief Minister, accompanied by district in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy, will be campaigning in Channapatna, which has become a prestigious seat owing to the intense political battle between Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Kumaraswamy, who has vacated the seat.

Waqf issue

Though Mr. Kumaraswamy has been ambiguous over the waqf issue largely because of the crucial minority votes in Channapatna, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok on Sunday claimed that a Hindu burial ground had been claimed by the waqf board at Yeliyur in Channapatna.

In an election rally at Chakkere, the native place of the Congress candidate, in Channapatna, he accused the waqf board of “grabbing” land from farmers, who have tilled for generations.

In Haveri, Mr. Basavaraj Bommai urged the Chief Minister to initiate action on a report submitted by Anwar Manapaddy on encroachments on waqf properties. He also urged for a SIT or a CBI inquiry into the issue, and accused the Congress leaders of grabbing waqf land.

In a post on social media platform X, Mr. Basavaraj Bommai accused Waqf Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan of misleading the public by releasing an unrelated old video footage to twist the issue and to malign him.