The Opposition Congress in Karnataka put up a sterling performance in the elections to urban local bodies as political heavyweight B.S. Yeddyurappa played spoilsport to the ruling BJP but made no big independent electoral impact ahead of Assembly polls just two months away.
The Congress won 1,960 wards as against 906 each secured by BJP and JD(S) of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in the March seven poll counting of votes for which was taken up on Monday.
The polls in urban pockets of the state were seen as a “semi-final”, coming as it does in the run up to assembly elections due by May.
The Karnataka Janatha Paksha of former chief minister Mr Yeddyurappa, who quit BJP in November last made its electoral debut securing 274 wards.
The former BJP strongman dented the ruling party’s prospects but failed to make much impact statewide on its own, exemplified by his party’s performance in his home district of Shimoga where KJP could secure only 34 wards out of 176 with Congress bagging 64, JD(S) 40 and BJP 24.
The BSR Congress of former minister B. Sriramulu, who had also broken away from the BJP and tested the political waters, won 86 wards, eating into latter’s votes. Independents made it big, winning 776 wards and are all set to play a key part in formation of urban local bodies where the elections have thrown up fractured verdict.
Elections were announced to 208 urban local bodies (4976 wards) — seven city corporations, 43 city municipal corporations, 66 town municipal councils and 92 town panchyats.
Congress won the city corporations of Davan-agere, Mangalore and Bellary. BJP was routed in Bellary, where the mining barons Reddy brothers, had a stranglehold, drawing a blank. Mysore and Gulbarga city corporation elections were marked by a fractured mandate, with Congress emerging as the single largest party.
The only saving grace for the state wing of BJP was from Hubli-Dharwad city corporation, the home town of chief minister Jagadish Shettar, where the party bagged 33 wards of a total of 67 but is not in a position to come to power on its own.