In a performance that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself admitted as “not up to expectations”, the ruling Congress managed decisive victories in only 10 of the 30 zilla panchayats. The Bharatiya Janata Party won seven and Janata Dal (Secular) retained two.
Significantly, 11 ZPs failed to throw up a clear winner, and both the BJP and the Congress are keen to strike alliances to wrest power in these ZPs. With the Congress and the BJP seeing a potential to gain four to five of these, the final power equation could still throw up surprises.
While the results go against the trend of a ruling party making a clean sweep, Mr. Siddaramaiah reiterated that it was “not a referendum” on his government’s performance. But, party insiders pointed out that many Ministers, including Mr. Siddaramaiah himself in Mysuru, failed to ensure clear victories in their home districts.
The BJP, which saw its tally coming down from 12 in 2010 to seven, has termed the victory a “rejection of the Congress government” as the ruling party failed to manage a better tally. It is on a par with the Congress in taluk panchayats, with 56 wins out of 175. On the other hand, the Janata Dal (Secular), billed a “rural-based party”, has much to worry about, having lost significant ground in areas regarded as its “bastions”, such as Hassan district. However, the party could play king-maker in the hung ZPs.
