The counting of votes polled during gram panchayat elections held on May 29 went on peacefully on Friday at the eight centres that had been set up in the district. Candidates and a large number of their supporters gathered around the counting centres, posing a challenge for the police. As the counting began and the winners declared, the candidates and their supporters began celebrating the victory by garlanding and greeting the winners.
In all, 8,652 persons contested the election for 254 gram panchayats. Out of the total of 3,589 seats, there were no contestants for 115 and another 408 members were elected unopposed.
Even as the counting process continued, political parties began claiming that a large number of candidates supported by their party had won. Raghu, general secretary of the youth wing of the Janata Dal (Secular), said more than 1,400 supporters of his party had won from among 2,000 seats, for which counting had been completed by evening. Among the 408 seats, which had been won by candidates without a contest, more than 300 were claimed to have been bagged by the Janata Dal (S) supporters.
The counting process, which began at 8 a.m., continued till late evening. Deputy Commissioner Umesh H. Kusugal, Assistant Commissioners S. Vijaya and S.S. Madhukeshwar supervised the counting of votes. Superintendent of Police Raman Gupta and other senior officials were present.
