Congress outperforms ruling BJP in Karnataka urban local body polls; bags 501 seats

 

Bengaluru: Opposition Congress party has outperformed the ruling BJP in the polls held for 58 urban local bodies (ULBs) spread across 20 districts in Karnataka, of which results were declared on Thursday.

 

According to the State Election Commission, out of a total 1,184 wards that went for polls from these ULBs on Monday, the Congress won in 501 while the BJP managed to win in 433 and JD(S) in 45. The remaining 205 seats were bagged by independents and smaller parties.

 

The results are being seen as a warning bell for the BJP ahead of the 2023 assembly polls, and as signs of anti-incumbency, even as the party maintained the losses occurred in places where minority voters were concentrated. The Congress managed to retain Bankapur town municipal council and Guttal town panchayat, in the home constituency of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai- Shiggaon, a major setback to the ruling party and him personally. BJP has also lost urban local bodies in the home turf of a couple of Ministers like B Sriramulu’s Nayakanahatti town panchayat.

 

Congress, which is expected to take control of over two dozen urban local bodies, is viewing the results as an indication of the things to come during the 2023 general election elections. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said that the results are the reflection of the BJP’s ‘hopeless governance’. Meanwhile, Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is in-charge of Congress affairs in Karnataka, congratulated state party chief D K Shivakumar, the MLAs and all senior leaders of the party on the electoral outcome.

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Though the BJP has managed to win more seats than the Congress in the five city municipal councils that went for polls, the latter has gained upper hand in town municipal councils and town panchayats. Noting that the BJP’s performance has improved compared to the last time and it could have been better, Chief Minister Bommai said, ‘if you observe, as these places have concentration of minority community voters, we have not been getting good results, but this time due to efforts, in places like Gadag and other, we have got success’. Bommai further hit back at Congress stating that they are dreaming about coming to power after assembly polls.