Congress will win 20 ZPs, 100 TPs, says Siddaramaiah

He revealed that three teams of ministers had been put in charge of the by-elections in three constituencies.

Update: 2016-02-05 22:42 GMT
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurates Suttur Jatra Mahotsava at Suttur Srikshethra in Nanjangud taluk on Friday (Photo: KPN)

Mysuru/Belagavi/Tumakuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah oozed confidence on Friday that the Congress would win in over 20 zilla panchayats and over 100 of the 176 taluk panchayats in coming elections in the State .

Also, he revealed that three teams of ministers had been  put in charge of the by-elections in three constituencies. While one team with ministers D.K. Shivkumar,  Ramlinga Reddy, K.J. George, Roshan Baig, and Krishna Byregowda was overseeing the poll in Hebbal constituency,  another  with ministers  S.R. Patil, Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, Qamar Ul Islam, Ibrahim and Roshan Baig was in charge of Bidar. Ministers H.C. Mahadevappa, S.J. Thangadagi, Anjaneya, M.B. Patil, S.R. Patil and Parameswar Naik were in-charge of  Devadurga constituency.

On the response in Hebbal, he claimed the Congress seemed to have an edge here. “We are confident of winning all three by -elections,” he asserted.

Dismissing BJP charges against his government, Mr Siddaramaiah  said it had little leg to stand on.  “What has been its contribution to strengthening the gram panchayat system in the state? Nothing.  Did they bring any amendment to the law?  They do not believe in decentralisation of power. It was Rajiv Gandhi who was responsible for the 73rd amendment and  it was P V Narasimha Rao who implemented it. It was our government which brought in a  comprehensive amendment to the Act, and introduced 50 per cent reservation for women, 27 per cent  for backward classes and reserved posts of president and vice president for dalits,” the Chief Minister said.

As for Janata Dal (Secular) leader, H.D. Kumarswamy’s charge that his government was focusing on malnutrition issues only now with an eye on the elections, Mr. Siddaramaiah said  the Annabhagya and Ksheerabhagya, schemes and interest- free loans for farmers of  upto Rs 3 lakh had been around ever since his government came to power.

Ten elected unopposed in Belagavi
Thanks to hectic lobbying, seven candidates were elected unopposed in taluk panchayat constituencies and two in zilla panchayat constituencies in Belagavi district.

On the last day of filing of nomination papers on Thursday, only one candidate remained in the fray in the 10 TP constituencies and two ZP constituencies with all others withdrawing their papers. Seven candidates were elected unopposed in the constituency of Arbhavi MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi who  has strong links at the grassroots.

BJP’s Vasanti Terdal from Hallur constituency in Arbhavi and Basavva Kullur from Vaderhatti from the same constituency were elected unopposed as ZP members. Hallur was reserved for General Woman while Vaderhatti was set aside for BC-A Woman category.  According to sources, Mr Jarkiholi was able to get seven candidates elected unopposed by taking people of his constituency into confidence.

Muniyappa, Moily join hands for Congress victory
Kolar Congress MP K.H. Muniyappa and Chikkaballapur MP Veerappa Moily seem to have united to prove their mettle in the ensuing Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections after their candidate failed to win the Kolar-Chikkaballapur MLC seat in the local bodies poll due to differences between them.

According to sources in the party, the Congress high command had instructed Muniyappa and Veerappa Moily to work unitedly to ensure a win in this election.

As per instructions, the leaders have started uniting dissident party workers in Kolar and Chikkaballapur and are also trying to bring back Congress workers, who left the party, as it would help them in the next Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Muniyappa has already succeeded in bringing back former Chintamani MLA Dr M.C. Sudhakar and his supporters into the Congress through former minister V. Muniyappa. After a gap of 10 years, Muniyappa went to Sudhkar’s house and held talks with him on the upcoming panchayat elections.

Due to differences between Muniyappa and Sudhakar, the Congress in Chikkaballapur district became a divided house a decade ago.

Sudhakar’s re-entry into the Congress has also helped K.H. Muniyappa, as Chintamani is part of Kolar Lok Sabha constituency.

Sources said that Muniyappa and Veerappa Moily have succeeded in resolving the differences between Bagepalli MLA S.N. Subbareddy and former MLA Sampangi. But K.H. Muniyappa is facing rebel trouble in Kolar parliamentary constituency as many Congress workers are contesting against the official candidates.

It is said that former minister Srinivasa Gowda, a Janata Dal (Secular) leader, is planning to return to the Congress before the next Assembly elections and has extended tacit support to Congress candidates in the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections.

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