K`tka: Congress-JD(S) pips BJP to win local body elections with 1,366 seats
BANGALURU : Congress emerged as the single largest party after counting of votes took place for elections in 102 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) across Karnataka. It bagged 982 seats while the JD(S) secured 375 seats. The Congress and the JD(S) together have won 1,366 seats, which gives them a clear edge over the BJP and control of a majority of the Urban Local Bodies.
State BJP president BS Yeddyurappa accepted that the party’s performance was ‘below expectation’ in the Urban Local Body polls. However, he expressed confidence that the saffron party will be victorious in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Ahead of the LS elections in 2019, a message has emerged from Karnataka that BJP is no longer the party at number 1 position in the state. The saffron party had emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly elections in May, however, the Congress surged ahead of the party in the Urban Local Body elections. Counting for the civic polls in the state took place on Monday.
Polling for 102 Urban Local Bodies took place on Friday. The elections had witnessed moderate polling across 24 districts of the state, with an average voting percentage of 63.8, State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday.
Congress secured 982 seats in the ULB polls while the BJP won 929 seats followed by JD(S) with 375 seats and independent candidates at 329 seats. Around 814 candidates contested the polls in 135 wards in three City Municipal Councils, including 130 BJP candidates and 135 Congress candidates. On the other hand, 129 Janata Dal-Secular candidates were in the fray while 350 Independent candidates were also in the fray.
In all, 8,340 candidates were contesting for the ULBs, including 2,306 from the Congress, 2,203 from the Bharatiya Janata Party and 1,397 from the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). 13.33 lakh voters were registered to vote in the three towns of Mysuru, Shivamogga, and Tumakuru, while a total of 36 lakh voters were registered in the ULB wards.
Polling took place last Friday across 22 districts of the state spread over 29 city municipalities, 53 town municipalities, 23 town panchayats and 135 wards of three city corporations — Mysuru, Shivamogga, and Tumakuru.
In the 2013 ULB elections held in 4,976 seats, the Congress had won 1,960 seats, while BJP and JD-S had won 905 seats each, and Independents bagged the remaining 1,206 seats.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “people of Karnataka have once again reposed their faith in Congress by making it the No.1 party in Urban Local Bodies. People have accepted development policies of Congress+JDS Govt & have rejected Jumlas of BJP.” Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy has said that JD(S) can form an alliance with the Congress at the local level as well.
Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s elder brother and Karnataka PWD minister HD Revanna has termed the results of the urban local body elections as a “vote of confidence” for the four-month-old coalition government of the JD(S) and the Congress.
