The Congress thwarted the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power in the Mysore Zilla Panchayat as its candidates were elected to the president and vice-president’s post in the elections held on Wednesday.
While M. Mahadev was elected president, Brahamarambha Mallikarjuna was elected vice-president.
The Congress, with 21 members, is the single largest party in the 46-member House, but was short of majority. The JD(S) with 16 seats and the BJP with eight seats had hoped to capture power and repeat the same power-sharing arrangement that exists in the Mysore City Corporation.
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However, the Congress managed to lure two BJP members, Kempanna and Manjula Puttaswamy, and also secured the support of Independent candidate, Madappa, which swung the fortune in its favour.
A loss would have been an embarrassment to the Congress as it is the Chief Minister’s home turf.
JD(S) member C.T. Rajanna abstained from voting as he was unwell and Congress member Shakuntala remained absent having veered towards the JD(S).
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Hence, only 44 members cast their vote. The Congress secured 23 votes, while the JD(S)-BJP managed to garner 21 votes.