Mangaluru : The BJP will make a candidate who can give “mass leadership” as the president of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat (ZP) for the next five years, said K. Prathap Simha Nayak, president of the Dakshina Kannada unit of the party.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Nayak said that the choice of the candidate for the post of panchayat president depends on the reservation to be announced by the government. “But the party would ensure that an able party member of the panchayat would be made president,” he said.

Mr. Nayak said that the party has made it to the elected body of the panchayat for the third time.

Though there was no “ruling party advantage factors” for the BJP this time, it had defeated the Congress, he said.

He said that the results of the elections to the zilla and taluk panchayats in the district were a caution to the Congress, which he said had failed to respond to the people.

Mr. Nayak alleged that the “appeasement policy”, misuse of power in the de-limitation of the constituencies and fixing reservations, filing false cases against people boomeranged on the Congress.

He said that District in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai had restricted himself as a “minister for Bantwal Assembly constituency” and not for the entire district.

To a question, he said that the party would continue to take up the Yettinahole project issue and fight against it.

He said that the BJP would give pro-people administration in the zilla and taluk panchayats where it has been elected.

Ganesh Karnik, MLC, and K. Monappa Bhandary, former MLC, were present.