Janata Dal-Secular leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy was on Thursday announced as the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the November 13 assembly by-polls from Channapatna, a seat vacated by his father and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy after being elected to Lok Sabha.
The 36-year-old is pitted against five-time MLA from the segment and former minister CP Yogeeshwara of the Congress, who joined the party after quitting Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.
Nikhi's mother Anitha Kumaraswamy, a former MLA, had unsuccessfully contested from the seat in 2013, and faced defeat against Yogeeshwara, a political heavyweight in the constituency.
With Yogeeshwara joining Congress to contest the Channapatna bypoll, pressure was mounting on Kumaraswamy from party workers and leaders to field Nikhil.
Kumaraswamy had held marathon meetings with party workers and leaders, especially those from Channapatna, over the last couple of days, before deciding on Nikhil's name.
A meeting was held with alliance partner BJP, at veteran leader BS Yediyurappa's residence on Thursday, before Nikhil's name was formally announced.
"We announce Nikhil Kumaraswamy as NDA candidate for Channapatna bypolls...hundred percent he will win. Together we will tour Channapatna and he (Nikhil) will win with a big margin," Yediyurappa told reporters, flanked by Kumaraswamy, Nikhil and other BJP-JD-S leaders.
It is said that Kumaraswamy was in a dilemma, as Nikhil was not keen on contesting but buckled under pressure from party workers.
Nikhil had said he was in favour of the party fielding a local JD-S worker or a leader as a candidate.
This is the third electoral battle for the actor-turned politician grandson of JD-S patriarch and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
He had unsuccessfully contested the 2023 assembly from the neighbouring Ramanagara, which had propelled Deve Gowda to the post of chief minister, and the seat that was also represented by both his parents.
He had a disastrous electoral debut earlier when he lost to BJP-backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 polls.
