BENGALURU, March 28 -- The state Congress leadership on Friday secured the support of rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan in the Davangere South assembly rebel candidate, who has agreed to campaign for the official nominee despite remaining in the by-election contest.

Because the deadline for withdrawing nominations expired on March 26, Sadiq's name will stay on the ballot. Party leaders, however, said his decision to align with the Congress would help prevent a division of votes in a seat the party considers critical.

The intervention came after a series of coordinated efforts led by deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who met Sadiq at his residence in Kumara Park. The meeting followed outreach by MLA Rizwan Arshad and legislative council c...