Congress Gears Up To Retain Hiriyur Seat In By-Election, Shivakumar Holds Talks With Minister Raghumurthy
The Hiriyur seat fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA D Sudhakar. The Election Commission is expected to announce the by-election schedule shortly.
Bengaluru: With the by-election to the Hiriyur Assembly constituency expected to be announced shortly, the Congress has begun preparations to retain the seat, with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar holding consultations with Minister Raghumurthy.
The Hiriyur seat fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA D Sudhakar. The Election Commission is expected to announce the by-election schedule shortly.
As part of the exercise, Social Welfare and Chitradurga district in-charge Minister T Raghumurthy met Shivakumar at his Sadashivanagar residence on Wednesday and discussed the by-election. Congress leader N Chandrappa was also present.
Raghumurthy, who called on the Chief Minister to extend Deepavali greetings, presented him with a copy of Sonia Gandhi's autobiography.
The meeting is understood to have focused on the party's preparations for the by-election, particularly the need for leaders to work together as the BJP-JD(S) combine under the NDA banner is expected to field a candidate.
Shivakumar is learnt to have told the leaders that the Congress should approach the election with unity and begin preparations without waiting for the announcement of the schedule. He also stressed the need to take the government's welfare programmes and development initiatives to voters as part of the campaign.
D Sudhakar, who was serving as the Planning and Statistics Minister and representing Hiriyur in the Assembly, died on May 10, 2026.
A senior Congress leader, Sudhakar was part of the second Siddaramaiah Cabinet, formed in May 2023, and also served as Chitradurga district in-charge Minister.
D Sudhakar was a four-time MLA. He was first elected to the Assembly from Challakere in 2004. He later shifted to Hiriyur, where he won as an Independent candidate in 2008 and subsequently contested on a Congress ticket, winning in 2013 and 2023. He was serving as Planning and Statistics Minister in the second Siddaramaiah Cabinet and was also the Chitradurga district in-charge Minister when he died.
