Bengaluru: Buoyed by the 2-1 verdict in their favour in by-polls to three Assembly seats, leaders of the state unit of BJP are certain of enhanced scores in phase-II of taluk and zilla panchayat polls scheduled for February 20.
The leaders are confident that the outcome of these by-polls would boost the morale of party cadre and even double their enthusiasm, says national joint secretary C.T. Ravi, who is drumming up support for candidates of his party ahead of the elections of Saturday. He said the impressive wins notched with big margins mirror the anti-incumbency factor which would be leveraged by him and his colleagues to impress voters in rural areas.
Mr Ravi stated that though the clout of local candidates matter more than the effort top leaders, the victory in Hebbal and Devadurga would help the party connect with voters better.
The ZP/ TP elections would be held to Msyuru, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Udupi, Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Vijayapur districts on Saturday.
Though the BJP has a stranglehold over coastal and Malnad districts, the party would be able to enhance its vote share in JD (S) and Congress dominated areas in old Mysuru in the aftermath of 2-1 win in Assembly bypolls.
In the JD (S) bastion, Hassan, the party would not be able to wrest power but during the campaign people have showed good response, and such a response would definitely improve the party’s vote share in the district, the leader added.
Besides capitalizing on the outcome of by-elections, leaders of BJP have also decided to organise a series of protest rallies against the state government over the next two days, the leader added.
Congress, BJP up the heat in ZP poll in Dakshina Kannada district
With less than five days to go for the Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections, the BJP and Congress are hard at work in Dakshina Kannada district. While the saffron party is doing everything possible to retain its hold on the ZP, the Congress is out to win its lost bastion. But infighting in the BJ and lack of strong leadership in others could work against it. With the Congress being in power in the state, the party may not find it easy to hold on to the zilla panchayat. For its part, the Congress is making the most of issues like the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats and the tiger project to bad mouth the BJP.
“Villages in the foothills of the ghats could be affected if the report is implemented and the project becomes a reality. So we are using both to discredit the BJP,” says a Congress leader. But BJP leaders continue to exude confidence about a win. Dismissing the squabbling as of no consequence, former minister, Krishna Palemar says small differences existed even during the Lok Sabha elections. “So how can they affect it now?. We will come to power,” he asserts. Local Congressmen are worried the government has not handled the Yettinahole issue properly.
