Karnataka - Gulbarga   

BJP wooing potential defectors in Opposition

Gulbarga: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which fell short of two seats to gain absolute majority in the Gulbarga zilla panchayat, has started the moves to enlist the support of at least three members, including the lone Congress rebel who won from Nelogi constituency in Jewargi as an Independent, to reach the magic figures to come to power in the zilla panchayat on its own for the first time.

In the 43-member zilla panchayat, the BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 20 seats followed by the Congress with 19 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) winning three seats and an Independent winning a seat.

The sources in the BJP told The Hindu in Gulbarga on Friday that the party was confident of gaining simple if not comfortable majority and the party was already in touch with the potential defectors in the Opposition, particularly the Janata Dal (Secular) and the lone Independent Shobha Bani, who had won as a Congress rebel from Nelogi.

The BJP has decided to target the vulnerable members in the JD (S) this time as the defecting members will not be unseated under the provisions of the anti-defection law. “Even if one member defects from the JD (S), he/she will not attract the provisions of the anti-defection law”, said a senior BJP leader who is closely involved in the talks with the potential defectors among the elected members from the JD (S) and the Congress.

The sources claimed that the lone Independent had expressed her willingness to support the BJP. And, the party was in touch with two women members of the JD (S) elected from Aland taluk. Mangala Arvind Narona of the JD (S) defeated Revamma Iranna of the Congress by a huge margin of 3,400 votes in Narona constituency. And, Jayashree Ashok defeated the Congress candidate Parvathi Bai at Khajuri in Aland taluk by a margin of 1,437 votes.

Ms. Mangala is the wife of the former Chairman of the Gulbarga Milk Producers' Union Arvind Narona. The BJP sources said that besides offering the post of the Vice-President and a post of the Chairman of the standing committee to the defecting members, the party has also told Mr. Arvind Narona that he will be a potential candidate of the party in Aland Assembly constituency.

The Congress, which is busy protecting its flock from poaching by the BJP, is still confident of coming to power with the support of the three member JD (S) group. “We do not believe that the JD (S) members would defect to the BJP”, the sources said, adding that the Indpendent member Shobha Bani had assured support to the Congress so that it can get the majority in the Gulbarga zilla panchayat.

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