Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Dec 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered decisive victories in the first-ever town panchayat elections held at Bajpe and Kinnigoli, securing clear majorities in both local bodies.
In the maiden Bajpe town panchayat elections, the BJP emerged with a clear majority by winning 11 of the total 19 seats. The Congress secured four seats, SDPI won three seats, while one seat went to an independent candidate. Vote counting was held on Wednesday at the Mangaluru Mini Vidhana Soudha.
The winners in Bajpe included Yashoda (Ward 1), Padmanabha Poojary (Ward 2), Lokesh Poojary (Ward 8), Ritesh Shetty (Ward 9), Sharmila Shetty (Ward 10), Supritha Shetty (Ward 13), Dinesh Shetty Kenjaru (Ward 15), Rajesh Ameen R K (Ward 16), Mallika Chandrashekar (Ward 17), Rakshitha Sharath (Ward 18) and Jayanth Poojary (Ward 19) from the BJP. Congress candidates Jacob Pereira (Ward 3), Chinnappa Salian (Ward 11), Kiran (Ward 12) and Hazeera Farzana (Ward 14) won their respective wards. SDPI candidates Gulshan Karim (Ward 5), Veena D’Souza (Ward 6) and Ayesha Bajpe (Ward 7) also secured victories, while Siraj Bajpe won from Ward 4 as an independent candidate.
Meanwhile, the BJP also emerged victorious in the Kinnigoli town panchayat elections held on December 21, four years after Kinnigoli was upgraded to a town panchayat. Out of the total 18 wards, the BJP won 10 seats, while the Congress secured eight seats, enabling the BJP to form a majority.
The BJP winners in Kinnigoli included Padmalatha Rao, Lokayya Salian, Shailesh Anchan, Gururaj Malligeyangadi, Gopal Punaroor, Dhanush Shettigar, Mallika Prakash, Mallika Guttagadu, Damodar Shetty and Pranik Kinnigoli. Congress candidates who won their wards included Sunitha Rodrigues, Chandra Ranya, Santan D’Souza, Prakash Acharya, Pratima Prashanth, Kushalata and Sunitha, among others.
Following the announcement of the results, BJP workers celebrated the victories with jubilant processions and slogans. MLA Umanath Kotian, BJP district vice-president Sunil Alva, Mulki town panchayat president Satish Anchan, mandal president Dinesh Puthran, Kasturi Panja, Deviprasad Punaroor, Jeevan Shetty Angaragudde and several other leaders and supporters were present and took part in the victory celebrations.