Gram Panchayat polls: Counting of votes held peacefully in Dakshina Kannada

Counting of votes in the recently concluded Gram Panchayat (GP) elections was held peacefully in seven taluks of the Dakshin Kannada district on Wednesday. The counting continued till late in the night.

Even as gram panchayat elections are held without any political party insignia, many workers from different parties had gathered outside the counting centre at Mahathma Gandhi Centenary Composite College in Bondel in Mangaluru.

The elections were held for 220 GPs with 3,181 seats. A total of 7,275 candidates were in the fray. However, 91 candidates had been elected unopposed.

Many candidates were seen camping outside the counting centre with garlands and sweets, along with their supporters who celebrated as results were announced. Activists from BJP, Congress and SDPI were gathered outside and shouted party slogans, in spite of prohibitory measures in place.

The police made the crowds disperse as traffic in the area was getting affected.

The counting was held for 624 seats in 37 GPs of Mangaluru taluk, 186 seats in 12 GPs of Moodbidri, 822 seats in 57 GPs of Bantwal, 631 seats in 46 GPs in Belthangady, 343 seats in 22 GPs of Puttur, 282 seats in 25 GPs in Sullia and 285 seats in 21 GPs of Kadaba.

Confusion at counting centres

There was confusion at the counting centre in Sullia when candidates and their agents objected to the nets that were tied in the counting halls. In room number 11, where the counting of Devacchala and Guthigaru GPs was in progress, they objected to the net saying that it obscures their view of the counting process. The officials convinced them that the net had been placed as per the guidelines of the State Election Commission.

Venoor Village Account Ramanna, who was on polling duty at the counting centre set up at SDM College in Ujire, fell sick and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Interesting facts

Candidate Hassainar was elected for his sixth term from Manjanady Gram Panchayat. Kambala jockey Rajesh Perankadi won from Moodumarnadu. Recounting was initiated at Koikode ward number 1 in Kemral GP as there was a two-vote difference between BJP-supported Amritha and Congress-supported Lavanya. In Haleyangady GP, elder brother Abdul Khader won against his younger brother Harris with a margin of 10 votes.

Sullia APMC President Vinaykumar Mulugadu, who contested from ward no. 1 of Madappadi village, lost to Mithradeva Madappadi by a margin of 21 votes. Former Zilla Panchayat member Saraswathi Kamath won from the second ward of Balila Gram Panchayat in Sullia by securing 439 votes.

Konaje GP former president Nazar Shah Pattori has won from the eighth ward for the fourth time.

Taluk Panchayat member Padmavathi Poojary, who contested from the second ward of Konaje GP, lost the election by a margin of over 200 votes.

Couples elected

Suvarna Kumar Jain contested and won from Navoor ward, while his wife Trishala Suvarna Kumar Jain secured a win from Devasya ward in Bantwal. Suresh Poojary and his wife Savitha were elected from Paladka.

Sanjeeva Poojary from Niddodi in Kallamundkoor GP won for the seventh time, while Hariprasad won for the fifth time in Thenkamijar.

Re-counting

In the re-counting, Shekh Shahabaz won against Ram Prasad by three votes in the fourth ward of Beluvai.

In 2010, the elections were held for 200 GPs in the district and BJP-supported candidates had won in 69 GPs, Congress-supported candidates in 102 GPs, JD(S)-supported candidates in 2 GPs.

In 2015, BJP-supported candidates had won in 129 GPs, Congress-supported candidates in 80 GPs out of 227 GPs in the district.