Mangaluru ; The Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP begins to shortlisting candidates for the coming zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections within a week. The district executive unit of BJP will finalise The candidates later  said, Pratap Simha Nayak, president of DK BJP here on Tuesday

The Assembly constituency-level units of the party were instructed to consult the gram panchayat-level units before short-listing the candidates. The executive decided to appoint two observers to coordinate with the Assembly constituency-level units, he said.

The executive decided that the candidates would have to be short-listed based on reservations announced for each zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat constituencies.

It instructed office-bearers to highlight the failures of State government to voters, including confusions in the cancellations of BPL cards.

K. Sunil Kumar, MLA, Karkala and a vice-president of the State unit of the party, Lalaji R Mendon, former MLA and party in-charge of Dakshina Kannada, Ganesh Karnik and Kota Srinivasa Poojary, MLCs, Sulochana Bhat, a vice-president of the State unit participated in the meeting.

In the present 35-member council of zilla panchayat, the BJP has 24 seats. After the delimitation of the constituencies, the total number of zilla panchayat constituencies have gone up to 36.

Of the five taluk panchayats in the district, the BJP has a majority in four. In Mangaluru taluk panchayat, the president is from the Congress and the vice-president is from the BJP. It is due to reservation factors.

According to Mr. Nayak, in the elections to 227 gram panchayats conducted in the district sometime ago, BJP-backed candidates were in a majority in 129 panchayats (57 per cent).

The Congress-backed candidates were in majority in 80 panchayats, and the Janata Dal (Secular) in one panchayat.

He said that in nine panchayats, the BJP and the Congress backed members were in equal number and no party has control over eight panchayats.