The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : Congress claims win in 60 p.c. of seats in GP polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 02, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

Congress claims win in 60 p.c. of seats in GP polls

By Our Staff Correspondent

Counting of votes in progress in Mangalore on Tuesday.

MANGALORE, MARCH 1. Candidates supported by the Congress emerged as the largest group when the results of the gram panchayat elections in Dakshina Kannada were announced here on Tuesday evening.

They have bagged an estimated 60 per cent of the seats in five taluks with the exception of Sullia, though candidates backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party too have been favoured.

Results

At 6 p.m. when counting for votes polled in gram panchayats in Sullia and Belthangady taluks was completed, all the 106 seats in 27 constituencies in Sullia and 183 seats in 41 constituencies in Belthangady taluks were declared.

BJP candidates

The BJP-backed candidates emerged with 40 per cent of seats in Belthangady taluk, while in Sullia, they have won a majority of seats in 15 constituencies.

The Congress was able to bag eight constituencies while the Janata Dal(S) has made some gains in four constituencies.

In Belthangady, when the reports last came in, the Congress-backed candidates were on par with those from the BJP. Belthangady has 183 seats in 41 panchayats.

In Puttur also, the Congress-backed candidates were in the lead. Counting of votes polled in 21 of the 37 panchayats had been completed.

Buntwal

In Buntwal, the Congress and BJP-backed candidates were locked in a battle of equals but according to the in-charge president of the district unit of the party, B. Ramanatha Rai, candidates backed by his party (Congress) had gained the upper hand in 258 seats in 46 panchayats.

In Mangalore taluk, results for 32 of the 48 panchayats have been declared and both the BJP and Congress claimed to the winner.

Speaking to The Hindu, the President of the District Congress Committee, Blasius M D'Souza, said the Congress was able to win 60 per cent of the seats in the district.

He agreed that there was a 20 per cent fall in the number of seats gained by the Congress-backed candidates in comparison to the last elections when the party-backed candidates had bagged 80 per cent of the seats.

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