Congress wins 670 Panchayat Samiti seats in the Rajasthan polls; in Karnataka Local Body Elections, trails with 103 behind BJP’s 111.
The opposition in Rajasthan, BJP trailed behind with 551 seats in the panchayat body elections which was held in six districts of Rajasthan. Polling for electing 1,564 members of 78 Panchayat Samitis and 200 members of six Zila Parishads was held in three phases.
On counting votes on Saturday, the Congress won a majority in the Samitis, while the BJP was leading in the ZP polls getting 55 of the 115 seats. The Congress won 52 ZP seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party three.
The Congress candidates won the majority of Samiti seats in Jodhpur, which is Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s home district. Its candidates Leela Maderna and Munni Devi Godara, claimants to the Zila Pramukh’s post, won the ZP seats. The post of Zila Pramukh is reserved for women in Jodhpur. BJP won the Zila Pramukh post in Jaipur, aided by Congress rebels who ditched Congress to join BJP at the last moment.
Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said the results had proved that the ruling party held the ground in the rural areas and the BJP had failed to make any inroads. He said the Congress winners would be appointed Pradhans in 60 Samitis, where they had achieved a clear majority, while the BJP would be restricted to 14 Samitis.
In the Karnataka Local Body Elections of 262 Urban Ward, Congress gets 103, BJP 111,
JDS 15 and Independents 33