READY FOR BATTLE: KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge (second from right), Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N. Dharam Singh and the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (right) at a meeting in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will urge the Election Commission to depute observers for preventing misuse of administrative machinery by the coalition Government headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in the Assembly byelections to the Chamundeshwari Constituency.

KPCC President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday held a meeting with office-bearers and leaders of the party at the Congress Bhavan here and discussed a strategy for the election campaign. The byelections will be held on December 4.

Mr. Kharge told presspersons after two-hour meeting that he would take a delegation to New Delhi next week to submit a memorandum to the Election Commission seeking to depute observers to ensure free and fair polls in the Chamundeshwari constituency. He alleged that the Janata Dal (Secular) workers disrupted a meeting organised by Congress candidate and the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Moosambayyahalli in the +constituency. Such an incident was an indication of poll-related violence likely to take place in the constituency during the campaign, he said.

The H.D. Kumaraswamy Government is likely to misuse the State administrative machinery to secure votes in favour of the coalition's candidate, Mr. Kharge alleged. The party would highlight the achievements of the N. Dharam Singh Government and United Progressive Alliance Government and failures of the Janata Dal (S)-BJP Government in the State during the campaign, he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah would file his nomination papers on November 17. The party was confident of winning the seat. It was just a matter of margin of votes, the KPCC president said. Mr. Siddaramaiah had contested from the constituency six times and had won on four occasions. Mr. Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N. Dharam Singh, and Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajashekaran attended the meeting.

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