Now that the polling for the gram panchayats in the district has been conducted, the contestants are sitting with their fingers crossed and furrowed eyebrows, anxious about the results that will be known on June 5.
Confidence is running high in both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP camps in Belagavi district. Though the elections for gram panchayats are fought on a non-political basis, it is explicit that all parties throw their hat behind the contestants who are either their members or supporters, in order to strengthen their organisational base at the grassroots.
Belagavi (Rural) district BJP president and former president of Belagavi Zilla Panchayat Eranna Kadadi said the party had focused its efforts in all the gram panchayats falling under the 63 zilla panchayat constituencies represented by the BJP in the present ZP body. As the BJP is strongly placed with 63 members and enjoys indirect support of six independents in the 86-member Belagavi ZP — as against only 17 of the Congress — the stage looks pre-set for the contestants in gram panchayat elections who are either supporters or members of the BJP, he said.
The BJP was first choice of the people in villages due to various development schemes and projects that were implemented by the previous BJP government in the State, said Mr. Kadadi. Despite internal bickering and several controversial developments within the party and the government, a lot of development work was visible.
Belagavi District (Rural) Congress president Laxmi R. Hebbalkar said the Congress supporters would fare better this time and win 75 per cent of the gram panchayat seats in the district.
Counting of ballots: 8 a.m. onwards on June 5
7,239 seats in 475 of 481 GPs
20,033 candidates in the fray
1,145 elected unopposed; no nominations for 74 seats
