In the last major elections in Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, Congress and the JD(S) fared better than the BJP at the hustings across 102 Urban Local Bodies even without forming a pre-poll alliance. However, the two parties will form a post-poll alliance wherever there is a hung verdict.
At the end of counting on Monday, BJP, which failed to form government following the Assembly elections even after emerging the single largest party, won 929 seats out of a total 2662 seats.
The Congress and the JD(S) managed to win 982 and 375 seats across 105 urban local bodies. Three hundred and twenty nine independents also emerged victorious.
The BSP managed 13 seats while other parties including the SDPI won a total of 34 seats.
Forty five seats in Kodagu will go for polls later as elections were deferred by the State Election Commission after the hilly district was hit by heavy rains between August 12 and 24.
Soon after the Congress and JD(S) stitched a post-poll alliance and HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the Chief Minister, both the parties had announced that they will contest the impending Lok Sabha polls forming a pre-poll alliance.
Due to differences among local leadership, the alliance could not be extended in the local polls. However, in case of hung results, a similar post-poll alliances like that in the state government is expected to keep BJP out of power.
This means that among the three municipal corporations, BJP can only lead the council in Shivamogga where it won 20 seats and the Congress and JD(S) managed only 7 and 2 seats respectively. In both Mysuru and Tumakuru municipal corporations, the party will have to play the role of opposition even though they won the highest number of seats.
Going by district wise trends, BJP has fared well in their strongholds of Shivamogga, Udupi, Daskshina Kannada and Bagalkote.
Reacting to the results on Monday, Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao hailed it as a victory.
“The Congress has won the highest number of seats in the Urban Local Body election results declared so far. We humbly thank the voters for reposing faith in the party and all our workers without whose selfless service this victory would not have been possible,” he tweeted.
— KPCC President (@KPCCPresident) September 3, 2018
Meanwhile, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa tried to downplay the result stating that the results will have very little impact on the Lok Sabha polls.
"The BJP should have won more seats but we could not perform the way we wanted to because of the Congress-JD-S coalition," Yeddyurappa told reporters
In the 2013 ,ULB elections held in 4,976 seats, the Congress had won 1,960 seats, while BJP and JD (S) had won 905 seats each, while Independents bagged the remaining 1,206 seats.