NEW DELHI: Democracy is still vibrant in the tsunami-devastated Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This was evident in the results of the just-held elections to the local self-government that showed a healthy mix of different political parties winning the polls.

Of the 127 candidates who contested for 18 wards of the Port Blair Municipal Council, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat, the DMK and the Rashtriya Janata Dal two seats each while independents also won two seats.

Congress candidates were elected on six seats closely followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party with five seats.

Good turnout

The polling percentage was 52 per cent and electronic machines were used for the first time in the municipal elections.

According to an official spokesperson, 3,275 candidates contested for 6,66 gram panchayat constituencies, 65 posts of pradhans, 67 panchayat samiti members and 30 constituencies of zilla parishad.

The results

The CPI(M) won one zilla parishad seat, two panchayat samiti seats, two posts of pradhans and 28 gram panchayat posts while two DMK contestants were elected as gram panchayat members.

One Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate was elected panchayat samiti member and seven others as gram panchayat members.

The BJP candidates were elected to 10 zilla parishad seats, 21 panchayat samiti seats, 17 posts of pradhans and 180 gram panchayat seats as against the Congress which won 13 zilla parishad slots, 28 panchayat samiti seats, 31 posts of pradhans and 300 gram panchayat seats.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha will make its presence felt with five gram panchayat members.

As for independents, four were elected to the zilla parishad, 11 to the panchayat samiti, 10 as pradhans and 105 as gram panchayat members.

Two Nationalist Congress Party candidates were elected zilla parishad members, four as panchayat samiti members, five as pradhans and 37 as gram panchayat members.

The AIADMK won only two gram panchayat seats.

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