Council polls to witness straight fight between BJP and Cong-JD(S) combine

 
Two candidates, incumbent MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary of BJP and Congress candidate Pratapchandra Shetty have been elected unopposed  from the Dakshina Kannada local authorities constituency.

In the remaining 23 constituencies, BJP is banking North Karnataka districts where it has a strong base, while the Congress-JD(S) alliance is confident of emerging victorious in the south.

The outcome of the polls from the local authorities constituencies has the potential to change the political equation in the Upper House. It is no surprise then that even as public campaigning ended on Wednesday, all three major political parties are leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory of their candidates.

It will be a straight fight between JD(S) and the BJP in Mandya, Tumkur, Hassan, Chitradurga, while a straight fight is on the cards between Congress and the BJP in Belgaum, Gulbarga, Kolar.

As many as 21 BJP candidates, 16 of Congress, eight of JD(S), one each from JD(U) and Vatal Paksha, besides 44 independents are in the fray.

Confident of winning

JD(S) sources expressed confidence of winning at least five seats, mainly in the Vokkaliga heartland of old Mysore region -- Hassan, Mysore, Tumkur, Bangalore rural and Chitradurga. The Congress is hopeful of making inroads into the BJP base in Kodagu and Kolar constituencies.

It is a prestige issue for both the JD(S) and the Congress to win Bangalore Rural seat. State President H D Kumaraswamy represents the constituency in Parliament, while Congress candidate Ravi is a relative of KPCC Working President D K Shivakumar.  

The last few days witnessed hectic campaigning by all the three major political parties to woo voters, who are elected representative of both urban and rural local bodies. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and top leaders of both the JD(S) and the Congress covered most of the constituencies during their campaign trail.
Polling will be held between 8 am and 4 pm on Friday.