In Karnataka civic polls, Congress wins 509 of 1,221 wards, BJP gets 366
Bengaluru, May 31: Congress won the highest number of seats in civic polls in Karnataka on Friday, in some good news for the beleaguered party which was routed in the state in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
While Congress bagged 509 of the total 1,221 wards in 56 urban local bodies (ULB) for which results were declared, the BJP got 366 wards, the state poll panel said.
The JD(S), which fought the polls alone, won 174 wards. Independent candidates emerged victorious in 160 wards, the BSP got 3, CPI(M) 2 and other parties secured 7.
The Congress and JD(S) who are in alliance in the state had decided to go to the polls separately and had asked their local leaders to decide on tactical arrangements at the ground-level depending on the local situation.
Results were declared for 217 wards of seven municipal councils, 714 wards of 30 town municipal councils and 290 wards of 19 town panchayats.
Congress won 90 wards in the municipal councils, while the BJP and JD(S) won 56 and 38 wards, respectively.
The Congress bagged 322 of 714 wards in 30 town municipal councils, where the BJP has won 184 and the JD(S) 102.
However, of the 290 wards in 19 town panchayats, BJP won the most with 126 seats, while the Congress and JD(S) won 97 and 34 wards, respectively.
The results of the civic body elections, which were held on Wednesday, gave a much-needed breather to the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in the state where it was battered by the BJP, which won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress and the JD(S) had managed to win one seat each, indicating that neither arithmetic nor chemistry had worked for the two as its local leadership failed to reconcile at the ground level during the national elections.
The results were said to be the worst-ever performance by the Congress in Karnataka and a record of sorts by the BJP for which the state had emerged as a bright spot in the South with other neighbouring states bucking the trend.
The civic poll win, however, has rekindled the workers of the Congress and the JD(S), which were battling fears of defection in the state legislature.
Sounding upbeat, state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said the results indicate that the party was strong at the local level.
However, he raised apprehensions about voting machines used in the Lok Sabha polls, saying "such difference in public mandate in such a short gap needs to be verified."
"Whatever it may be, people have supported us and has installed confidence in us after Lok Sabha results," he added.
Rao said, in the civic bodies where the Congress has got majority, it will form administration on its own, and wherever there is no majority, local leaders have been asked to either seek JD(S) support or to support the regional party, depending on the situation.
When 105 civic bodies went to polls last year, the Congress had won 982 wards, while the BJP and the JD(S) won 929 and 375 wards, respectively.
District-wise data :
Bengaluru City: Congress-17, BJP-10
Chitradurga: Congress-22, BJP-20, JDS-3, Independents-18
Davanagere: Congress-10, BJP-5, JDS-14, Independents-2
Kolar: Congress-39, BJP-11, JDS-14, Independents -13
Chikkaballapur: Congress-26, BJP-2, JDS-11, BSP-2, CPM-2, Independents -11
Tumkur: Congress 45, BJP 21, JDS 15, Independents 10
Mysuru: Congress-31, BJP-18, JDS-23, Independents -5
Chikkamagaluru: Congress -27, BJP-27, JDS-7, Independents-6
Dakshina Kannada: Congress 24, BJP-34, JDS-1, Independents 2
Hassan: Congress-6, BJP-8, JDS-11, Independents-3
Mandya: Congress-23, BJP-4, JDS-32, Independents-10
Chamarajanagar: Congress-22, BJP-17, JDS-6, Independents-1, others -1
Vijayapur: Congress -24, BJP-20, JDS-3, Independents-22
Dharwad: Congress-18, BJP-18, JDS-17, Independents -5
Gadag: Congress-12, BJP-29, JDS-1, Independents -4
Haveri: Congress-12, BJP-22, Independents-12
Uttar Kannada: Congress-6, BJP-27, JDS-2, Independents -23
Bidar: Congress-75, BJP-31, JDS-13, BSP-1, Independents 4, others 4
Bellary: Congress-54, BJP-30, JDS-1, Independents -8
Yadgiri: Congress-16, BJP-12, Independents-1, others -2
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
