Karnataka ULB election result 2018: Congress wins maximum seats, says voters 'reinforced their faith' in party

The Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition in Karnataka, emerged as the party which won the most seats in the urban local body (ULB) elections in the state. The party bagged 982 out of a total of 2,662 seats. After a close fight with the Congress, the BJP came second in the race by winning 929 seats. On the other hand, the Congress’ ally in the state government, Janata Dal (Secular), trailed behind, winning 375 seats. However, it secured a majority in its strongholds of Hassan, Mandya, and Tumakuru districts. The Congress emerged victorious in 10 out of 22 districts including Ballari, Bidar, Gadag, Mysuru, Uttara Kannada and Raichur, according to the State Election Commission. The BJP secured a majority in seven districts, including the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. Independents won 329 seats across the 22 districts, while other fringe parties and regional outfits won another 34. As the party appeared set to get the most seats, Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the state’s urban voters “reinforced their faith in us”. Reacting to the victory, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the people of Karnataka have accepted the development policies of the Congress-JD(S) government in the state and have rejected the “jumlas” (rhetoric) of the BJP.

People of Karnataka have once again reposed their faith in Congress by making it the No.1 party in Urban Local Bodies.

People have accepted development policies of Congress+JDS Govt & have rejected Jumlas of BJP.

Many thanks to every @INCKarnataka worker!#KarnatakaULBVerdict

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 3, 2018

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that the urban voters, who used to earlier favour the BJP, have now shown “full support” to the coalition government with the ULB elections.

City voters normally vote for BJP, but with the outcome of this result, now even city voters have shown full support for the coalition govt led by Congress & JDS: HD Kumaraswamy, Karnataka CM, on #KarnatakaLocalBodyElections results pic.twitter.com/BoaDsQAoVF

— ANI (@ANI) September 3, 2018

Meanwhile, BJP state unit president BS Yeddyurappa said in Bengaluru, “The BJP should have won more seats but we could not perform the way we wanted to because of the Congress-JD(S) coalition.” The party, however, is confident of winning a majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Yeddyurappa said. “The people’s mandate is with the BJP, and we are confident of a majority in the next year’s general election,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_5088861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Voters at a polling station in Pandavapura town. image courtesy: Deena D’Silva/101Reporters[/caption] In Hassan City Municipal Council, the JD(S) bagged 17 out of 35 seats. The BJP won 13 seats, while the Congress could get only two seats as Independents won the remaining three. Meanwhile, the BJP won the Udupi City Municipal Council, bagging 31 seats out of a total of 35 seats, while the Congress got only four seats and conceded defeat. The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) headed towards a hung house with no party in a position to secure majority in the 65-member civic body. In the Tumakuru City Corporation that has 35 seats, Congress and JD(S) secured 10 seats each, the BJP won 12, while Independents won three seats. Of the three ULBs that went for polls in Dakshina Kannada, BJP bagged Puttur and Congress managed to sweep Ullal. During a press conference, the Congress said that the party will join hands with the JD(S) in civic bodies where the results showed no clear majority, like Mysuru and Tumakuru. Both the Congress and the JD(S) had contested the polls separately despite being partners in the state government. JD(S) leader Danish Ali termed the poll result as a defeat of the BJP, noting that the civic elections were held in 104 urban Assembly constituencies, out of which the BJP had won 69 in the state elections held in May . A total of 8,340 candidates , including 2,306 from the Congress, 2,203 from the BJP and 1,397 from the JD(S), contested the ULB elections in Karnataka, with around 800 fighting for the three city corporations. The elections were held in 21 of the 30 districts across the state. A total of 105 ULBs went to the polls which include 29 city municipal councils, 53 town municipal councils and 23 town panchayats. Voting in three places in Kodagu was postponed because of floods. The remaining districts, including Bengaluru, will vote later in November. In 2013, the ULB elections were held in 4,976 seats in which the Congress had won 1,960 seats and the BJP and the JD(S) had secured 905 seats each. The remaining 1,206 seats were bagged by Independent candidates.