At a time when the country’s attention was fixated on the counting of votes in Delhi Assembly polls, the elections held to Hunsur City Municipal Council (CMC) too had aroused curiosity for the locals, albeit in a limited manner. For, it was considered to be a barometer for the popularity enjoyed by Congress MLA H.P. Manjunath and former Minister A.H. Vishwanath, who had locked horns in the fiercely fought bypolls to the Legislative Assembly from Hunsur on December 5.
The Congress, which had comfortably won the byelections, however, fell short of a simple majority in the Hunsur CMC polls. In the 31-member CMC, the Congress secured 14 seats, followed by JD(S), which bagged 7 seats, and BJP which won three seats. Two candidates belonging to Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and five Independents too triumphed in the elections.
The Congress will now have to depend on the support of Independents and others to hold the reins of power in the civic body.
Mr. Vishwanath, who had refused to give up the Assembly constituency ahead of the bypolls even though the BJP offered him the option of entering the Legislature though the Council, had told reporters after casting his vote in the CMC polls held on February 9 that the BJP can only gain in the civic body polls as it did not have any seats in the earlier body.