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Pathan was a last-minute choice in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls, replacing the Congress party’s first choice, Mohammed Yousuf Savanur.
Interestingly, Pathan was also a last-minute choice for Congress in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls.
Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, the Congress’s choice for the Shiggaon bypoll, is all set to contest against former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharat. Pathan, whose name was the last to be announced for the Karnataka bypolls, was the grand old party’s last-minute choice in the Shiggaon Assembly polls in 2023 as he replaced another Congress candidate just a day before the deadline for filing nomination.
Pathan is currently the president of Anjuman-e-Islam Hubballi-Dharwad and has also been a Zilla Parishad member from Hangal.
Interestingly, Pathan was also a last-minute choice in the 2023 Assembly polls, replacing the Congress party’s first choice, Mohammed Yousuf Savanur. Savanur was replaced by Pathan due to his lack of base in the constituency, according to Congress sources. The party had received feedback that local Congress workers felt they would not be able to work with an ‘outsider.’
Senior Bommai contested from the Shiggaon Assembly seat and won it four times in a row. In 2023, he won against Pathan as well. Later, he was given the ticket to contest his maiden general election from the Haveri seat, which he won.
In the upcoming bypolls, the BJP has named his son Bharat as the candidate for the Shiggaon seat, which became vacant after Senior Bommai’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections. The Shiggaon Assembly segment falls within the Haveri Lok Sabha seat.
This crucial seat sees Lingayats and Muslims as the dominant voting groups, with over 80,000 voters in the Assembly segment. Out of this, 45,000 voters belong to the Panchamasali sect of the Lingayats, and there are at least 50,000 minority voters.
While this caste combination has helped Basavaraj Bommai in the past, political observers say it remains to be seen whether it will benefit his son in his maiden election.
While finalising the candidate for the Shiggaon bypoll, the Congress had six probable names, including two Muslims and four Lingayats, one of whom was a Panchamsali Lingayat, however, Pathan bagged the ticket.
The clash between the BJP and Congress candidates will reflect this very demographic, as Bharat is a Lingayat and Pathan is a Muslim candidate.
A senior Congress leader close to the developments said the high command decided to field Pathan again because, after his Lok Sabha electoral loss, he continued to stay in the constituency and work with the people.
“He is well known and has worked at the ground level as a ZP member as well as part of the NSUI. Our ground report shows that across the board, Pathan has been the popular choice of the Congress workers as well as the youth in the seat. So his name was finalised,” said the leader.
During his campaign against Senior Bommai, Pathan’s election pitch was that there was an undercurrent of anti-incumbency against Bommai, who had been the Chief Minister when the elections were announced. He fought a tough election, to lose to Bommai by 35,978 votes.
“The other opposing candidate may try to build on his father’s image, but Pathan has years of groundwork and ground connect compared to the electoral novice,” added the leader.
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