Bangalore : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party of the State has emerged as a winning party in the polls to the local governing councils but still it suffered impediment in the territory of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and the powerful Reddy brothers.
The BJP bagged 12, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) four each out of 30 zilla (district) panchayats, but the remaining 10 it was a split judgment.
The BJP won 68, Congress 31 and JD-S 29 out of 176 taluka (sub-district) panchayats, but no party emerged a clear winner in the remaining 48.
The BJP hardly managed to win the zilla panchayat, bagging 16 of the 31 seats and conceding 13 to the Congress and two to the JD-S, even though there was a major setback in Yeddyurappa’s home district of Shimoga.
The Reddy brothers were in state of shock when the BJP failed to get a majority in the 36-member Bellary zilla panchayat. The party won just 18 seats, with the Congress taking 17 and the JD-S one.
One of the Reddy brothers, G. Janardhana Reddy is the tourism minister and the elder G. Karunakara Reddy holds the revenue portfolio. The Reddys face charges of illegal iron ore mining and income tax evasion. Both .S. Eshwarappa and Yeddyurappa had been confidently saying that their party would capture power in at least 20 of the 30 zilla panchayats and over 100 of the 176 taluk panchayats.
Thanking to the voters, Yeddyurappa, said that voters have rendered the maximum support to the party. Previously, the BJP was considered an urban-based party. But the recent results have shown that the BJP has a huge rural base, he said.
Speaking at a separate press meet, Eshwarappa said he was confident that the BJP would be in power in 14 of the 30 zilla panchayats, 12 on its own and two with the help of Independents.
Around 65 percent out of 21 million voters, nearly half of them women, cast their ballots in the elections to the 30 zilla and 176 taluka panchayats Dec 26, Dec 31 and Jan 1. The BJP, Congress and JD-S were locked in a three-way fight in a majority of the 1,013 zilla and 3,659 taluka panchayat seats. These are the first elections to the local governing councils after the BJP came to power in the state in May 2008.
After the statewide results of the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat polls were out and BJP has gained maximum votes in both ZP and TP. However, the results of 10 ZPs and 46 TPs were split.
The BJP party which has succeeded in getting victory by winning 12 out of 30 zilla panchayats in the statewide, Congress and JDS has only gained four ZPs each.
Out of 176 zilla panchayats, BJP has again won by 68 whereas Congress lagged behind winning 31 ZPs with JDS closing with 29 and others 2.
Addressing the media persons, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said that the positive results were the blessings and the trust of the people over the party. The result of the poll showed the people’s interest to vote for the development-based governance by the BJP government he said.
Impediment in Shimoga, Bellary
Though BJP won by majority in many seats, it was a major setback with BJP hardly managing to win the zilla panchayat in his home district Shimoga, bagging 16 of the 31 seats and conceding 13 to the Congress and two to the JD-S.
Further, Reddy brothers were shocked, since BJP failed to get a majority seats in Bellary ZP having 36 seats. While the party won just 18 seats, Congress bagged 17 and the JD-S one.