GULBARGA: Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State have buried their differences, at least for now, to project a united face to extend the party's surprisingly good performance in the Assembly elections to the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat polls.

A senior leader, who is closely involved in boosting the prospects of the party in the State, told The Hindu here on Monday that the party is hoping to capture 11 of the 27 zilla panc hayats.

The party is hopeful of capturing power in Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikmagalur, and Bangalore (Urban) zilla panchayats and win a sizable number of seats in the other zilla panchayats.

The leader, who did not wish to be identified, said the party, which has the people's goodwill, will cash in on the differences between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) in the zilla and taluk panchayat elections.

Political situation

The confused political situation in the State with the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) almost certain of go it alone in the zilla and taluk panchayat elections and the presence of the Samajwadi Party, led by the former Chief Minister, S. Bangarappa, will seriously affect the prospects of the Congress in many districts such as Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, and Dharwad, according to him.

The performance of the BJP supported candidates in the gram panchayat elections has reinforced its hope of denting the prospects of the Congress and Janata Dal (S) in the panchayat raj bodies, which have so far remained the domain of the latter two parties.

Drawback

The party is confident of doing well in the taluk panchayat elections. But its drawback is the lack of committed cadre in the rural areas. The party is banking on the support of the Sangh Parivar affiliates such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal to help it breach the Congress and Janata Dal (S) strongholds.

The partymen have put behind the recent rebellion among senior party leaders over the nomination of Jagadish Shettar as the party State unit chief and the appointment of other office-bearers close to former Union Minister and BJP General Secretary, H.N. Ananth Kumar.

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