Cong gets upper hand in local bodies election
Hung results in many places, Alliance likely between Congress-JDS
Bengaluru, September 3: The results of much curious local bodies elections was announced on Monday and one of the ruling parties- Congress has gained upper hands with winning more seats. But in many places, there were hung results and political parties are competing with each other for the power.
Now, the Congress and BJP have to fight for getting power. Though the voters have not given clear mandate to any one political party, the BJP has strengthened its base in city municipal councils, while the Congress has got more seats in town panchayats. However, the JDS was pushed to the third place.
The elections were held for 2,732 wards in 105 local bodies including three city corporations in 22 districts. Among them, the Congress has won 982 wards, while BJP has got 929 wards, JDS in 375 wards, SDPI in 17 wards, BSP in13 wards, KPJP in 10 wards, SP in four, KRRS, New Indian Congress and WPI have got one seat each and 329 independent candidates have won.
City Municipal Councils
Out of 29 city municipal councils in the state, the Congress has got clear mandate in 10, BJP in 5 and JDS in three councils. Apart from this, 11 councils have no clear mandate to any one party.
Town panchayats
Out of 20 town panchayats, both the Congress and BJP have got clear majority in seven town panchayats each. JDS would get the power in two panchayats and four have hung councils.
Town municipal councils
Among 53 town municipal councils, Congress has got majority in 19, BJP in 12 and JDS in 8. However, no party has got majority in 14 councils.
City Corporations
Among Shivamogga, Mysuru and Tumkur city corporations, the BJP has got majority in Shivamogga city corporations, and remaining two have hung situation. Like coalition government at the state, there is all likelihood that both the city corporations may have coalition administration.
In total, the Congress has got power in 31 local bodies, BJP in 30 and JDS has got power in 13 places and 31 local bodies have in hung situation.
Among 135 city corporation seats, the Congress has won 36, BJP 54 and JDS 30 seats and independents have won in 15 wards. Out of 355 wards in town panchayats, Congress has got highest 138 seats, BJP 130, JDS 29 and others have got 58 seats. Out of 926 wards in city municipal councils, the BJP has got the highest 370 seats followed by Congress with 294 and JDS 106 and independents in 156 seats.
Among 1,247 town municipal council seats, the Congress has got 514 seats, while BJP has got 375 seats and JDS 210 seats, SDPI- 4, KRRS-1, WPI-1, SP-4 and 135 independents.
The JDS has maintained its hold in old Mysuru region like Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru and Tumkur. However, the BJP has maintained its influence in North Karnataka, Coastal region and Mangaluru. But the Congress has felt its presence in all places and got more seats than BJP and JDS.
Though the Congress has emerged the biggest party with more seats, it could get the power only in a few local bodies. In some local bodies, the Congress has registered zero account. Interestingly, the JDS has bagged more seats in the home district of Deputy Chief Minister Dr G. Parameshwar.
Unanimous election
The Election Commission has announced that total 30 candidates have elected unopposed in various districts. Of them, the Congress candidates were elected unanimously in 9 wards, BJP in three wards, JDS and BSP in one ward each and 16 independents were elected unopposed.
Seats tally
- Congress- 982
- BJP- 929
- JDS- 375
- Others- 376
Party strength
City Corporation: 135 wards
- Congress-36, BJP-54, JDS-30, others-15
Town Panchayat: 355 seats
- Congress- 138, BJP- 130, JDS-29 and others-58
City Municipal Council: 926 seats
- Congress- 294, BJP- 370, JDS-106, others- 156
Town municipal council: 1246 seats
- Congress- 514, BJP- 375, JDS-210, others-147
Not a referendum
“The result of the local bodies elections is not a referendum to the Lok Sabha election. This result will not have any impact on the forthcoming LS poll”.
- HD Deve Gowda, Former Prime Minister
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
