C. Bharathi and P. Deena were elected president and vice-president of the Ballari Zilla Panchayat. The Zilla Panchayat is under the control of the BJP for the third consecutive term.
Amlan Aditya Biswas, Regional Commissioner, Kalaburagi, conducted the election proceedings and announced the results here on Friday.
The post of president was reserved for Other Backward Class (B) (Woman) and the post of vice-president was reserved for Scheduled Caste. In the 40-member house, BJP has won 21 and the Congress, 17. Two are independents.
Ms. Bharathi, who represents Badanahatti constituency in Ballari taluk, secured 22 votes, including the vote of an independent (Vijaykumar) to defeat the Congress candidate Ms. Asha Thippeswamy who secured 18 votes, including the vote of an independent (Srinivas). Rathnamma, of the BJP, who had earlier filed her nomination, later withdrew.
In the election to the post of vice-president, Ms. Deena, representing Badeladaku in Kudligi taluk, secured 22 votes, four more than her rival from the Congress, A. Manaiah.
The BJP had a tough time over selection of a candidate for the post of president as there were four aspirants falling under the reserved category on one hand and pressures from the local leaders that the candidate of their choice should be chosen. Apprehending that the Congress might indulge in horse trading, the BJP had herded all its candidate at a resort, earlier immediately after the election, and also recently. The BJP members returned to the city only on Friday.
Several BJP leaders, including B. Sriramulu, MP, Nemiraj Naik, BJP district unit president, and party supporters celebrated the victory by bursting crackers and shouting slogans.
