Mangaluru : The zilla and taluk panchayats in Dakshina Kannada district scheduled for February 20, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has a majority in panchayat raj bodies in the district, has prepared a preliminary list of contestants.
In the present 35-member council of the zilla panchayat led by the BJP, it has 24 seats. After the delimitation of constituencies, the total number of zilla panchayat constituencies has gone up to 36.
Of the five taluk panchayats in the district, the BJP is leading in four. In Mangaluru taluk panchayat, though, the BJP is in majority, the president is from the Congress and vice-president from the BJP. It is due to reservation factors.
According to Pratap Simha Nayak, president, district unit of the party, the first round of list prepared at the gram panchayat level is ready. It would be scrutinised in the Assembly-level in the second round within a week.
The list would be reviewed at the district-level in the third round.
The list of all candidates is expected to be out by the end of this month. The list of candidates for the zilla panchayat constituencies would be announced by the State unit while for the taluk panchayat constituencies by the district unit.
He said that the party was assessing the factors like contribution of the worker to the party, activeness in the party activities, his or her ability and inability while selecting the contestants.
According to Mr. Nayak, in the elections to 227 gram panchayats conducted in the district last year, BJP-backed candidates were in a majority in 129 panchayats (57 per cent).
Mr. Nayak said that the party had organised a meeting of party workers at Farangipet on the outskirts of the city, in the forenoon on January 22. S. Suresh Kumar, former Minister, would address the party workers at the meeting. It would be addressed, among others, by MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shoba Karandlaje and others.