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BJP looks set to take control of Belagavi corporation for first time
The BJP was leading in at least 35 wards out of the total 58 in the district, relegating the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) and Congress to the Opposition benches
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday secured control over the Belagavi city corporation for the first time in the history of Karnataka border district that has so far voted on language as the main election agenda in the local polls.
The BJP was leading in at least 35 wards out of the total 58 in the district, relegating the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) and Congress to the Opposition benches.
“The voters have put their confidence in us. Last time we got low results (in Belagavi),” Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday. He added that the results prove that the border district has backed a stable administration under the BJP.
“Coming as it did within one month of our government, this election was the first sign of approval and support. And this will also show the direction (of future elections),” he added.
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A total of 1,105 candidates contested the elections in the three urban local body polls (ULB) that took place on September 3.
The Congress was hopeful of a better show in Belagavi where it managed to bring down the huge margin of difference between the BJP’s Mangala Angadi in the Lok Sabha bypolls in April this year.
The BJP was also leading in Hubballi-Dharwad which Bommai said was a “stronghold” of the party .
However, it remains unclear which way the results are moving in Kalaburagi district where the Congress has a better footprint. “In Belagavi we may have lost or not gotten good numbers but it has become a good beginning,” DK Shivakumar, the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said on Monday.
He said that even in Hubbali-Dharwad, the numbers of the party have improved.
