Bitterly-fought first phase panchayat polls held in Karnataka

Polling was today held for Zilla and Taluk Panchayats in 12 districts of Karnataka in the first phase of the elections, bitterly fought by ruling BJP, the Congress and JD(S) with stakes high for the three parties.

The exercise was largely peaceful though there were some stray reports of skirmishes between activists of rival parties, allegations of voter enticement, electronic voting machine malfunctioning and bogus voting.

"There were no major incidents. By and large, the election was peaceful", an official of the State Election Commission said.

According to official sources, initial estimates put the polling percentage at around 50%. Exact numbers will be known later.

Up for grabs were 374 Zilla Panchayat seats and 1335 Taluk Panchat seats in the districts of Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Shimoga, Tumkur, Bidar, Bellary, Raichur and Yadgir.

Fight in most of the constituencies is triangular with BJP, Congress and JD(S) putting up an aggressive campaign.

The local body elections are seen as an "acid test" for chief minister BS Yeddyurappa who came under intense scrutiny recently by the BJP high-command after the JDS and Congress unleashed allegations of corruption and nepotism against him and demanded his ouster.

"The climate (for the BJP) is good, beyond expectations," Yeddyurappa said today, adding, he believed poll results would give a "reply" to questions (allegations of corruption against him) raised by the opposition.

The polls are no less important for the Congress and JD(S).

For newly-appointed head of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee G Parameshwara, the poll results will show where the party stood in the grass-roots level, while the outcome would give an idea as to whether JDS' spirited campaign to put the government on the mat has found favour with the people.

Kumaraswamy was not enthusiastic about an understanding with the Congress after the local body polls and asserted that there was no such possiblity.

"I have watched the behaviour of the Congress in matters of tie-ups with small secular parties. They (Congress) create an atmosphere for an understanding when it suits them. Thereafter, they pay attention to completely destroy them", the JD(S) state unit president and Lok Sabha member said.

Parameshwara said he is getting information from his party activists that the BJP is allegedly seeking to influence the voters by offering money. He also accused the ruling party of winning over some candidates of the Congress and JD(S) by inducements and making them withraw from the field.

"It seems the BJP has drawn up a 'Operation Withdrawal' scheme", he alleged.

More than a crore people were eligible to exercise their franchise today. There were 6311 candidates in the fray in the first phase - 1,549 for zilla panchayat and 4,762 for taluk panchayat elections, held from 7 am to 5 pm. Elaborate security arrangements had been made for the elections. There were nearly 13,000 polling stations.

Electronic voting machines were used for the first time in these local body elections. Fifty per cent of the seats, both in ZP and TP, are reserved for women.

The second phase of the elections would be held in 17 districts on December 31 and in Gulbarga district on January one. The results would be known on January 4.