Congress campaign for Koppal bypoll starts

BANGALORE: In a serious bid to lay the  foundation for a comeback, the Congress will launch its campaign on Monday, for the by-election to Koppal assembly constituency scheduled for September 26.Party leaders, including Opposition leaders in the Karnataka legislature Siddaramaiah and Motamma, AICC general secretary and party’s Karnataka in-charge Madhusudan Mistry and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes, will participate in a public meeting, launching the party’s campaign, KPCC president Dr G Parameshwar said. He said the party would work hard for the success of Basavaraj Hitnal, who had lost the 2008 elections by a margin of 10,000 votes.The by-election is being held following the resignation of the JD(S) member Karadi Sanganna, who had quit the seat and joined the BJP. The BJP has named Sanganna as its candidate.In 2008 elections, Sanganna had secured 48,372 votes and Hitnal had secured 38,027 votes, followed by BJP’s Andanappa Agadi with 22,851 votes.The Congress, which lost almost all the by-elections in the state, saw a ray of hope after the resignation of B S Yeddyurappa. The arrest of G Janardhana Reddy by the CBI sleuths also came in handy for the Congress.Speaking to The New Indian Express, Parameshwar said the BJP’s involvement in scams, its anti-farmer policies and misdeeds in governance would help the Congress candidate as there was a strong anti-incumbency wave in the state.