The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained the Hubballi-Dharwad City Corporation after its candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor positions emerged victorious in the recent elections. This victory is seen as a setback to former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who reportedly made every effort to ensure the success of Congress candidates.
Veena Chetana Baradwada was elected as the mayor, while Satish Hanagal was elected as the deputy mayor. Veena, who was the BJP candidate, secured 46 votes, while Congress candidate Suvarna Kallakuntla managed to obtain 37 votes.
The Hubballi-Dharwad corporation has 82 seats, with 39 of them being held by the BJP and 33 by Congress. Apart from these, there are three seats held by AIMIM, one by JD (S), and six by independent candidates. The total number of seats, including MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, is 89.
The elections were held to elect the mayor and deputy mayor positions for the second term on Tuesday. Shettar had joined Congress, and he had reportedly worked with Minister for Information and Infrastructure Santosh Lad, Congress MLAs Vinay Kulkarni and Prasad Abbaiah to ensure the victory of Congress candidates.
Meanwhile, the BJP had taken its corporation members to a resort to prevent defection. The victory of the BJP candidates is being seen as a morale booster by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who congratulated the party leaders and workers for their work.
Bommai noted that the BJP mayoral candidate’s consecutive 12th win is a matter of pride for the party.
