The election was held for the posts of the president and vice-president of Kushalnagar Town Panchayat here on Tuesday.
BJP candidate B Jayavardhan was elected as the president and Surayya Banu from JD(S) was elected as the vice-president.
The election was held in the Town Panchayat office and tahsildar Govindaraj was the returning officer.
The post of the president was reserved for an SC candidate. B Jayavardhan from BJP and Puttalakshmamma from Congress had submitted the nominations while Surayya Banu from JD(S) and Jayalakshmi from Congress submitted nominations for the post of the vice-president.
During the election, Jayavardhan got 11 votes and Puttalakshmamma received six votes. Surayya Banu and Jayakashmi secured 11 and six votes respectively.
BJP and JD(S) have six members each and Congress has four members in the Town Panchayat.
MP Pratap Simha and MLA Appachu Ranjan, along with other Town Panchayat members, cast their votes.
V S Anand Kumar from JD(S) remained neutral without casting his votes to anyone.
Newly-elected president Jayavardhan said that he will strive for the progress of the town. “The members have supported me from the point of the development of the town and nobody was offered kickbacks for support,” he said and added that his aim is to make Kushalnagar Town Panchayat as the model town panchayat.
Opposition vents ire
KPCC secretary K P Chandrakala said that no party has got a majority in the election. Eying power, BJP chose a Muslim candidate from JD(S) for vice-president.
BJP has no ideology or ethics, she criticised.
Congress leader Shashidhar V P said that BJP has attained power through back door after alluring JD(S) members. It has been changing its ideologies according to its conveniences. Voters will teach them a lesson in the days to come, he said.
KPCC spokesperson T P Ramesh stated that Congress could not come to power due to lack of numbers. Both BJP and JD(S) are not trustworthy, he said.
District JD(S) President K M Ganesh said that the coalition for by the JD(S) members with BJP for Kushalnagar Town Panchayat elections, is not official and is against the party rules.
The matter will be brought to the notice of the party High Command and disciplinary action will be recommended against the three members, he said.
MP Pratap Simha and MLA Appachu Ranjan justified the coalition of BJP with JD(S) and stated that the coalition was necessary for the development of the town. The Town Panchayat administration will be apolitical in the days to come, they said.
Tension
BJP members took out a victory procession in the town. Sweets were distributed and firecrackers were burst.
As the three JD(S) members cast their votes for BJP candidate Jayavardhan for the president’s post, the rest of the JD(S) members raised slogans. This created a tense atmosphere. However, the police controlled the situation.