KASARGOD: The overall performance of the BJP in the local body election is almost the same as it was five years ago, raising the question of whether it has plateaued in Kasaragod.
The BJP won 111 of the 664 wards in the district, just two more wards than in 2015.
In the municipal election it won 19 seats, the same as in 2015.
There were 113 wards in three municipalities up for grabs. It could not open an account in Nileshwar municipality. In Kanhangad and Kasaragod municipalities, the BJP won five and 14 seats respectively, the same as in 2015.
However, in the six block panchayats, the BJP won 19 of the 83 divisions, up from 13 in 2015.
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In the 17-member district panchayat, it retained its two divisions: Puthige and Edneer.
In a first-past-the-post system, the number of wards won could not be used to measure the growth of a party, said BJP district president K Shreekanth.
"We can lose a ward by just one vote or because of cross-voting by other parties. We will have to wait to see how many votes the BJP won in the district and compare it with the previous terms," he said.
CPM district secretary M V Balakrishnan tended to agree with Shreekanth. The BJP made some gains in newer panchayats but also lost out in its strongholds to the LDF, he said.
"That's why the numbers look the same for the party. But the BJP had indulged in communal campaigning which we see as a threat and we should guard against," he said.
To be sure, the BJP got an absolute majority in the 20-member Madhur panchayat, a bastion of the party for the past 40 years. But this time, the party won only 13 wards, down from 16 it won in 2015.
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For the first time, the LDF won four wards in the panchayat, defeating the BJP and the IUML. "The defeat of the BJP in Madhur is more because of infighting and the LDF fielded independent candidates who had access to BJP voters and families," said Balakrishnan.
LDF wins 376 of 877 wards
Overall, the CPM-led LDF made a substantial gain in the district.
It won 288 of the 664 gram panchayat wards in the district, up from 263 in 2015.
The biggest gain came in the Manjeshwar panchayat where five LDF-backed candidates won. It did not have any candidates in the last term. In contrast, the BJP managed to retain its six wards in the panchayat, where it has been the long-time challenger of the IUML.
The UDF was reduced to eight seats from 12 in the 21-member panchayat.
Similarly, the LDF marginally increased its tally in Kumbla, Badiadka, Kumbadaje, Vorkady, Meenja panchayats where the fight was till now between the UDF and the BJP.
In the municipal election, the LDF could only manage to retain its lone seat in Kasaragod municipality. But it bettered its position and retained the control of Nileshwar and Kanhangad municipalities.
Of the 113 municipal wards in the three towns, the LDF won 46 wards, up from 41 in the 2015 election.
In the block panchayat, the LDF won 34 divisions, the same as in 2015.
In the district panchayat, it wrested control from the UDF by winning eight of the 17 wards.
Overall, the LDF won 376 of 877 wards across the three-tier panchayats and municipalities. In 2015, it had won 351.