Bangalore, Mar 23 (DHNS) :  It’s final. Janata Dal (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will not contest the byelection from Channapatna. 

The party on Tuesday decided to field farmers’ leader S L Nagaraj who will file his nomination papers on Wednesday.

Kumaraswamy was under pressure from local party leaders to contest the bypoll. He had even twice announced he would contest the election, but changed his mind and announced the party candidate at a media conference on Tuesday.

Sources said party chief H D Deve Gowda was against Kumaraswamy contesting the bypoll, as such demands from partymen would start coming from other constituencies in future, if he yielded to pressure now.

Nagaraj was associated with the erstwhile Janata Party and the Janata Dal. He later identified himself with the Gowda-led JD(S) and had led many farmers’ movements in Channapatna. The bypoll will be his first attempt to enter the Assembly. He will face three-time MLA C P Yogeshwar of the BJP and political novice Raghunandan Ramanna of the Congress.

The JD(S) has fielded C Venkateshappa in Bangarpet while H Manjunath is its probable candidate in Jagalur.