Just a week after being wiped out in Karnataka during the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Congress is back with a bang in the municipalities and local councils across the southern state. The party appears to have wiped out all rivals in the Karnataka Urban Local Body (ULB) elections, winning in 509 wards!
Polling took place in Karnataka across 1,361 wards of 63 ULBs. These include eight City Municipal Councils (CMCs), 33 Town Municipal Councils (TMCs) and 22 Taluka Panchayats (TPs). By elections in 202 Gram Panchayats (GPs) and 10 TPs were also held simultaneously.
At the time of going to press the Congress had won 509 wards, BJP trailing behind with 366 and JD (S) at 174. The results may be viewed here.
This is a huge improvement over its 2018 numbers when 105 ULBs went to polls. Back then over 2,000 wards were up for grabs and while the Congress had won 982 seats, the BJP was snapping at its heels with 929 seats.
This fresh victory is a shot in the arm for the Congress that suffered a crushing defeat in the general elections. Even party heavyweights had fared poorly. The most shocking defeat was that of Mallikarjun Kharge from Kalaburagi… his first electoral defeat in 30 years!
But the tide seems to have turned with the ULB elections. While the Congress fared better in CMCc and TMCs, the BJP was doing better in TPs. Interestingly the Congress decided to go it alone in the polls.