Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Sadiq Pahilwan and Rizwan Arshad, Shivajinagar MLA at a press conference at KPCC office in Bengaluru on March 27. Photo credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
Congress rebel candidate Sadiq Pahilwan on Friday withdrew from the election fray in the Davangere South Assembly by-election scheduled to be held on April 9.
The decision came after the intervention of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President DK Shivakumar. Congress legislators Rizwan Arshad and Saleem Ahmed held talks with Mr. Pahilwan and managed to convince him to step down, Mr. Shivakumar said.
No formal withdrawal from the contract
Mr Pahilwan could not formally withdraw his nomination on March 26, the last date for withdrawal, due to delays in contacting him for discussions.
He announced that he would extend full support to Congress candidate Samarth Mallikarjun, son of minister SS Mallikarjun, in the by-election.
The inquiry was necessitated after the death of Shamanur Shivashankarappa, a sitting MLA.
Meeting with the CM
Earlier in the day, Mr. Pahilwan met the Chief Minister and expressed his intention to continue with the Congress.
At a joint press conference attended by Mr Siddaramaiah, Mr Shivakumar and AICC general secretary and state in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mr Pahilwan confirmed that he was stepping down in favor of Mr Samarth.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that while Mr. Pahilwan was an aspirant on the ticket, the party followed its tradition of nominating a family member of the late leader. He cited a similar case in Bagalkot where Umesh Meti, son of the late HY Meti, was deployed.
Mr. Surjewala acknowledged that there were some differences in the allocation of tickets, but said the issue had now been resolved and Mr. Pahilwan had rejoined the party. Mr. Shivakumar insisted that Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan was not adamant about a Muslim not getting a ticket and was busy with the Kerala elections.
Subhan in battle
Although Mr. Pahilwan has returned to the Congress, another Congress rebel, Subhan Sab, is still in the fray. The Congress expelled him from the party for six years.
Published – 27 March 2026 20:17 IST
