In Karnataka’s Channapatna constituency, voter turnout reached a high of 84.26%, followed by Shiggaon at 75.07% and Sandur at 71.47% as of 5 pm on Wednesday, November 13. Bye-elections are currently underway in 31 assembly seats across 10 states, including Karnataka and Kerala.

In Karnataka, three Assembly constituencies are voting, while in Kerala, the high-profile Wayanad parliamentary constituency and the Chelakara Assembly constituency are also going to the polls.

In Channapatna, the JD(S) has fielded Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who faces Congress leader CP Yogeeshwara. This seat was previously held by HD Kumaraswamy before his election to the Lok Sabha. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Channapatna recorded an 85.86% voter turnout.

In Shiggaon, BJP’s Bharat Bommai, son of former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, is up against Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. This seat, vacated by Basavaraj Bommai after his election as an MP from Haveri, had a voter turnout of 80.01% in 2018.

The Sandur constituency was left vacant when its Congress representative, E Tukaram, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ballari. Tukaram’s wife, E Annapurna, is now contesting the seat against BJP’s Bangaru Hanumantha, president of the BJP’s ST Morcha in Karnataka. Sandur saw a 74.44% voter turnout in the 2018 elections.

Meanwhile, in Kerala, the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and Chelakkara Assembly constituency have seen voter turnout surpass 50%, with Wayanad at 51.79% and Chelakkara at around 57.52% as of 4 pm.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Wayanad recorded a 74.2% turnout when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi contested the seat. After vacating it to represent Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, this bye-election was necessitated. 

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi’s sister, is contesting her first election in Wayanad against Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate and CPI leader Sathyan Mokeri, as well as BJP’s Navya Haridas.

The bye-election in Chelakkara follows the recent Lok Sabha win of former Minister K Radhakrishnan from Alathur constituency. CPI(M) leader UR Pradeep, the previous MLA who stepped aside for Radhakrishnan, seeks to retain the seat. Congress has fielded Remya Haridas, former Lok Sabha MP from Alathur, while BJP’s candidate is local leader K Balakrishnan. Chelakkara had a voter turnout of 81.2% in the 2021 Assembly elections.