India, March 16 -- The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the by-elections for the vacant Davanagere South and Bagalkote assembly constituencies in Karnataka will be held on April 9.

According to the official schedule, the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar released the poll schedule in New Delhi. The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and HY Meti, which resulted in vacancies in the Davanagere South and Bagalkote Assembly segments, respectively.

Shivashankarappa, a senior Congress leader and former minister, represented the Davanagere South constituency, while Meti, also a former minister, had been elected from Baga...