BIDAR: What factors led to the Janata Dal (S)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine coming back to power in the Bidar Zilla Panchayat? Party insiders say that infighting in the Congress helped the coalition. The same Congress members who successfully moved a no-confidence motion against the

Janata Dal (S)-BJP leadership in September were divided over which Congress leaders should replace them. This paved the way for the old combine to resume power, sources said.

In the meantime, the BJP and the Janata Dal (S) leaders were able to quell the dissidence within their parties and ensure that their members in the zilla panchayat did not support the Congress' plans. While three BJP members had supported the Congress-led no-confidence motion, Janata Dal (S) member M. Neelamma signed the request seeking permission for such a motion in August. The motion won majority votes owing to dissent in the BJP. But, Ms. Neelamma changed her mind the last minute and stayed with her party.

No party has a majority in the zilla panchayat. The 31-member house has 12 Congress members, eight each from the BJP and the Janata Dal (S) and one each from the BSP and AIPJD. The other member is an independent.

On Monday, the Janata Dal (S) candidate Anil Bhusare got 17 votes and the Congress nominee D.K. Sidram got 14. Apart from the 16 members of the Janata Dal (S)-BJP combine, Mr. Bhusare was supported by BSP's Mohammad Inayat Ali. Mr. Ali had supported the no-confidence motion against Mr. Bhusare earlier.

The three BJP members, Meenakshi Sangram, Ganapath Rao Kadam and Bheemanna Kolle, who had voted against Mr. Bhusare in September, voted for him on Monday. Vice-president Jyoti Charan Rathod was elected unanimously. Ms. Neelamma who had also filed a nomination for the vice-president's post, withdrew it.

The Congress leadership was earlier hopeful of winning the two posts. But its confidence waned after its members were divided over who should be nominated to the post of the president. Party sources said some members rallied behind Mr. Sidram, and some others behind Amrit Chimkod, a long time associate of former Deputy Chief Minister Siddharamaiah.

On Monday morning, it was communicated to the members that Mr. Sidram was the official candidate. But, Mr. Chimkod's group dropped plans of contacting their friends in other parties and left it to Mr. Sidram to garner enough support to win. Mr. Sidram's efforts to woo members of other parties did not succeed. 0

When contacted, Agriculture Minister and district in-charge Bandeppa Kashempur denied charges of horse-trading and said members had voted acting on their conscience.

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