Bengaluru, Sept.3 (KMS&DM)- Even as the disqualified Legislators of the Congress and JD(S) are fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court against their disqualification in July, 2019 by the then Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, the Election Commission is preparing to conduct the by-polls to 17 Assembly seats in the State represented by disqualified Legislators, in October.

According to the Election Commission sources, the Commission is planning to hold the by-polls along with General Assembly polls in the States of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand that are very much likely to take place in October.

However, the conduct of the by-polls are subject to the verdict of the Supreme Court which is hearing the petitions filed by 17 disqualified Legislators questioning the Speaker’s action of disqualifying them. The by-polls may not take place if the Apex Court grants a stay against the then Speaker’s order.

The 17 MLAs — Fourteen from the Congress and three from the JD(S) — had quit their seats on different dates in July last, which triggered the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress Coalition Government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Both the parties had petitioned the then Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar seeking the disqualification of the MLAs of their respective parties on the grounds of anti-party activities and violation of whip. The Speaker disqualified the MLAs ahead of Kumaraswamy’s Trust vote on July 23. Kumaraswamy lost the Trust vote and quit as the CM on July 23, following which B.S. Yediyurappa of the BJP was sworn-in as the Chief Minister on July 26.

The 17 Assembly seats that may go to the by-polls following disqualification of MLAs are Hunsur, K.R. Pet, Mahalakshmi Layout, Rajarajeshwarinagar, K.R. Puram, Hosakote, Ranebenur, Athani, Kagwad, Hirekeru, Chikkaballapur, Yellapur, Gokak, Yeshwanthpur, Maski, Vijayanagar-Hospet and Shivajinagar.