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BJP claims victory in panchayat polls

Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA: There have been claims and counter claims over the election results of the first two phases of panchayat polls in Himachal Pradesh with the Congress Party and the BJP claiming that a majority of the winners belong to their party.

A ruling party spokesman claimed on Wednesday that people with Congress ideology had won in majority of the panchayats. "It is the result of development policies of the party".

On the other hand, the BJP State Convener of Election Cell, Hiranand Kashyap, said that the Congress defeat was complete. "Almost 80 percent of the results of two phases of elections have gone in the favour of BJP", he claimed. Mr. Kashyap gave a detailed list of elected candidates of BJP from various wards, saying that a number of relatives of senior Congress leaders had lost the elections, especially in Solan and Sirmaur districts -- the once strongholds of Congress party.

State BJP President and Member of Parliament Suresh Bhardwaj has called the election results as the victory of democracy. Despite the `misuse' of government machinery, the Congress candidates are securing third or fourth positions, he declared. In some of the wards of prestigious Zila Parishads, the Congress could not field its own candidates, he added.

Apparently sensing defeat, the Congress party had announced an award of Rs. 10 lakhs each for the panchayats which elected their representatives unanimously. Following this, more than 300 panchayats -- which is around 10 per cent of the total number -- got their representatives elected unopposed.

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BJP claims victory in panchayat polls

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