Karnataka municipal poll results 2021: BJP bags Belagavi, leads in Hubballi; locked in fierce fight for Kalaburagi

BENGALURU: The BJP posted good performance in the three major city corporations in north Karnataka, winning Belagavi corporation and emerging as the single largest party in Hubballi-Dharwad. The party stopped the Congress from crossing the halfway mark in Kalaburagi, besides boosting its chances of having its mayor for the first time.
The elections took place on September 3 and the results were announced on Monday.The BJP was in power in Hubballi-Dharwad and the Congress held the reins in Kalaburagi. The 2013 elections to Belagavi corporation were held between language groups, and Marathi-speaking candidates trumped the Kannada-Urdu forum 32-26.

Now, the BJP is expected to capture all three corporations with support from JD(S) and independents. “Voters have supported the BJP’s nationalist ideology and good governance by PM Modi and CM Basavaraj Bommai. We will come to power in all three corporations,” said party state president Nalin Kumar Kateel.
With 4 winners, JD(S) set to be kingmaker in Kalaburagi
The poll results have come as a shot in the arm for Bommai, who said the verdict is “people’s acceptance of the new regime. This is like a sample test after being in office for one month.”
In Belagavi, where polls were held on party lines for the first time in 30 years, the BJP won 35 of the 55 wards. The Congress, which gave the BJP a fright in the Belagavi Lok Sabha bypoll, managed to win 10 seats. The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi suffered big setback with just two of the 29 candidates it supported making it past the winning post.
In Hubballi-Dharwad, BJP scooped 39 of the 82 seats, three short of a majority. The party, which won 34 in the previous polls, is looking to clinch the civic body – for a third straight time -- with help from six MLAs and an MP, who have the voting rights in the mayoral elections. Congress stormed the BJP’s stronghold winning 33 seats, bettering its 2013 tally of 22. The party could get the reins if all 10 independents offer support.
The 55-member Kalaburagi corporation witnessed a hung verdict with the Congress winning 27 seats and BJ. In the 2014 elections, the Congress had won 23 seats and the BJP 14, including seven of a breakaway faction led by BS Yediyurappa.
The JD(S) with four winners will be the kingmaker as neither of the two big parties can come to power without its help. Both Congress and BJP fall short of two seats each for a simple majority even after considering the votes of respective MLAs, MLCs and MPs. Both parties are reportedly in touch with JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy.