BJP fields late Union Min Suresh Angadi's wife Mangala for Lok Sabha bypoll to Belagavi

On Thursday, BJP named Mangala Angadi as its candidate for the Lok Sabha by-election to Belagavi constituency which fell vacant after the demise of her husband Suresh Angadi. The former MoS Railways passed away due to COVID-19 on September 23, 2019. The 65-year-old politician hailing from Karnataka had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on September 11 and was initially asymptomatic. However, he was later admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment. 

Having represented the Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency for 4 consecutive terms starting from 2004 onwards, Angadi became the first member of the Modi government to succumb to the infection. A businessperson and educationist by profession, he served as the president and vice president of BJP's Belagavi district unit. Leading the flurry of tributes on his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as an "exceptional party worker", who worked hard to strengthen BJP in Karnataka. 

In another development, BJP fielded ex-Karnataka Chief Secretary K Ratna Prabha from the Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh. Balli Durga Prasad Rao, the sitting YSRCP MP, had died after contracting the novel coronavirus. Moreover, the JP Nadda-led party also released names of candidates for 9 Assembly by-elections. All these polls will be held on April 17 whereas the results shall be declared on May 2. 

Here is the list of BJP's candidates for the Assembly by-elections:

Assembly polls

On February 26, the Election Commission of India announced the dates of the Assembly election for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry. While Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry will have a single-phase poll, Assam and West Bengal Assembly election shall be conducted in three and eight phases respectively. A total of 18.68 crore persons will decide the fate of 824 seats in the aforesaid 4 States and one Union Territory at 2.7 lakh polling stations. The expenditure limit of the Puducherry will be Rs.22 lakh per constituency and Rs.30.8 lakh for the 4 states. The counting of votes for all the polls will take place on May 2.