Although the Congress considered action against Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan over "anti-party activities'', it stopped short, fearing reprisal from the minority community. (File Photo)As votes polled in the two Assembly bypolls in Karnataka will be counted on Monday, the results will come under scrutiny in light of allegations of “anti-party” activities in the Congress, though the contests will have no impact on its Government.Bypolls were held for the Davanagere South and Bagalkot seats on April 9, following the demise of Congress legislators Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti.Congress fielded relatives of the deceased MLAs in both segments: Shivashankarappa’s grandson Samarth Mallikarjun in Davanagere South and Meti’s son Umesh Meti in Bagalkot.The BJP fielded first-time candidate Srinivas T Dasakariyappa in Davanagere South and three-time MLA Veeranna Charantimath in Bagalkot.The BJP is looking for an upset in the bypolls as the Congress was plagued by disgruntlement, especially in Davanagere South, during the elections.The grouse in Davanagere South concerned the choice of Samarth as the candidate—Muslim legislators from the Congress had lobbied for a ticket for a leader of their community, highlighting that almost a third of the segment’s electorate were Muslims.Samarth filing his nomination even before the Congress officially announced its candidate list had also not sat well with several leaders.Story continues below this adA day after the polls, a section of Muslim legislators, led by MLC Saleem Ahmed, accused some Muslim leaders of indulging in anti-party activities. Soon after, MLC Abdul Jabbar resigned as head of the state Congress’s minority wing before being suspended from the party.The cabinet position of political advisor to the chief minister was withdrawn from another MLC, Naseer Ahmed, over the issue.Although the party considered action against Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, it stopped short, fearing reprisal from the minority community.In Bagalkot too, the Congress suspended three members for “anti-party activities” in the constituency: Murugesh, vice-president of the Bagalkot District Central Co-operative Bank and Kamatagi town panchayat members Gurulinga Patil and Ramesh Jamakhandi.Story continues below this adBoth the Congress and the BJP have expressed confidence in favourable results in the bypolls.