MYSURU: The Congress on Wednesday tasted a humiliating defeat in former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s home turf with the BJP emerging as the single largest party in the Saragur town panchayat for the first time.
The BJP, which considered the election a prestigious battle to paint the Old Mysore region saffron, won six seats in the 12-member panchayat. While JDS won three seats, candidates supported by Congress bagged just two. An independent won the remaining seat.
This comes as a second shocker for the Congress in the region after it ceded the mayoral post in Mysuru to JDS to continue the alliance. The town panchayat election at Saragur, carved out of HD Kote taluk, saw more women in the poll race, as three constituencies were reserved for SC General and one each for SC and ST women. Residents feel that sanctioning of Rs 18 crore under the Nagarothana scheme to develop Saragur, funds to set up taluk offices and a promise to develop it as a model town in five years yielded good results for BJP.