"I have a debt to repay": DK Shivakumar hints he may contest Channapatna assembly bypoll

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 19 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar hinted on Wednesday that he may contest the Channapatna assembly bypoll, and said that he has a "debt" to repay to the people of the constituency.
Speaking to reporters in Karnataka's Bengaluru, Shivakumar said, "Channapatna is in my heart. It was part of the erstwhile Sathanur assembly constituency, which I represented. My political career actually started there. The people of Channaptna have been with me in tough times and I have a debt to repay."
The Channapatna bypoll was necessitated following the election of its representative, Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader and now Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, to Lok Sabha in the recent elections.
"There is an opportunity to develop Channapatna in the same way I have developed Kanakapura. I am visiting the temples of the constituency and discussing with the local leaders and voters, will take a decision on contesting later," added the Karnataka Deputy CM.
Asked about the possibility of his brother D. K. Suresh contesting from Channapatna, he said, "It has not been finalised."
Suresh was fielded from Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment. However, he lost to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s CN Manjhunath by a margin of 2,69,647 votes, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
JD (S)'s Kumaraswamy represented the Channapatna assembly in 2018 and 2023. Shivakumar, on the other hand, has been representing the Kanakapura segment since 2008.
Earlier today, DK Shivakumar visited Raghavendra Mutt and Kote Sri Varadarajaswamy Temple in Channapatnam.
Taking to 'X', he wrote, "Today I visited the Raghavendra Mutt and Kote Sri Varadarajaswamy Temple in Channapatna, offered pooja, got darshan of God and prayed for the good of all." (ANI)