VIJAYAPURA: The Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) has emerged as the single largest party in the first Vijayapura City Corporation polls. Among the 35 wards, BJP has registered a thumping victory in 17 wards.
The results of the Vijayapura (earlier known as Bijapur) City Corporation elections were announced on Monday. The polls were held on Friday.
The Congress managed to retain its 10 wards.
The Janata Dal (Secular) won in only one ward of the 35-member corporation.
In a surpise win, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) claimed victory in two wards. AIMIM's Sufiya Abdul Rehaman Vatti and Rizwana Kaisar Hussain Inamdar won from wards 25 and 28.
Five Independent candidates also registered victory.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not secure a single seat.
However, the BJP, which needed 18 seats to gain a simple majority, fell short by one seat to claim the power of the city corporation.
Of the total elected Independent candidates, two are BJP rebels and one is of Congress.
“One among the Independent candidates is likely to support the BJP in the Mayor elections,” a BJP leader claimed.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai congratulated Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and party workers for achieving an "unprecedented feat" in the municipal polls.
This is the first elections to the civic body after it was created in 2013.
The BJP also won 6 out of 7 seats in the Kollegal bypolls.
The bypolls in Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district was necessitated after seven Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) councillors joined the BJP.
These seven councillors were the supporters of MLA N Mahesh, who was expelled from the BSP after he, along with a few others from the Congress and JD(S), helped the saffron party come to power in Karnataka.
Regarding the Kollegal bypoll results, the Chief Minister thanked the expelled BSP MLA Mahesh, the candidates and the party workers for their victory.
(With PTI inputs)