Congress scores over BJP in Karnataka local polls

Bengaluru, June 3 (IANS) Maintaining its lead through the vote count, the Congress has won 562 seats in Karnataka's 63 urban local bodies, leaving behind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 406 and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 202, according to a senior poll official here on Monday.

"Of the 1,361 seats in 63 urban local bodies, the Congress won 562, the BJP 406, the JD-S 202, Independents 178 and others 13," state Election Commissioner P.N. Srinivasachari told IANS.

Though elections to 63 urban local bodies in 22 of the 30 districts were held on May 29, results of Bengaluru Rural and Shivamoga districts were withheld on May 31 due to a court stay on declaration of the outcome.

"With a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court vacating the stay earlier in the day, we have declared results for 46 seats in two urban local bodies of the Bengaluru Rural district and 94 seats in five urban local bodies of the Shivamogga district," he said.

Shivamogga in the Malnad region is about 300 km northwest of Bengaluru.

A single-judge Bench had stayed vote count on May 30 in the two districts following a slew of petitions against the reservation criteria laid down by the state government for the two top posts (President and Vice-President) and delimitation of wards.

"As we have constitutional duty to conduct free and fair elections by the stipulated day before the terms of the urban local bodies lapse, the high court upheld our plea as we cannot delay the results further," Srinivasachari said.

The poll reverses in urban local bodies for the BJP have came 10 days after it won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in general elections. An Independent, backed by the BJP, also won one seat - Mandya.