Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jun 30: As Congress members resorted to cross-voting at the election held for posts in Shirva gram panchayat (GP) on Monday June 29, BJP claimed both the seats for which election was held. Despite being in minority, BJP succeeded in bagging both the posts of the president and vice president in this village.

Out of 18 Congress-supported candidates, two voted in favour of BJP candidates. As a result, Varija Poojarthi, a second-time gram panchayat member, and member from Shirva Kadambu ward, was elected as president. Devadas Nayak, elected as member from Mattar Belanjale for fifth consecutive term, became the vice president.

Senior Congress leader and former zilla Parishat vice president, Leena Mathias, and four-time GP member and former vice president, K Ramaraya Patkar, were defeated, as both got 16 votes each. Senior assistant horticultural officer, Sadashiva Rao, was the returning officer for this election.

Shirva GP has been a traditional bastion of the Congress. In the past, Vanita Kamalaksha Shenoy of BJP had been elected as president for a term due to cross voting. The term of the present president and vice president is of five years. It is said that the Congress support has been divided between three different factions, and efforts of Congress leaders to unite them fell flat.