ZP/TP polls: Both Cong, BJP hopeful of winning majority in DK, Udupi

Mangaluru/Udupi, Feb 22: The fate of 116 candidates in 36 zilla panchayat constituencies and 361 candidates in 136 taluk panchayat constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district will be decided on Tuesday.

In Mangaluru, the counting of votes will be held at Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Higher Primary School, Bondel, Infant Jesus English/Kannada Medium School, Modankaup, SDM PU College, Ujire, Vivekananda English Medium School, Tenkila and Nehru Memorial College, Sullia.

The results are expected to be announced by noon.

While Congress hopes to reverse last time's results in zilla panchayat and five taluk panchayats in the district, BJP hopes to better its last term's results. Meanwhile, it is said that the results will have a far-reaching impact on both the major parties.

In zilla panchayat, the BJP had won 24 seats and Congress only 11 seats in the previous election. In Mangaluru taluk panchayat, the BJP had won 19 seats and Congress 18. The number of seats won on other taluk panchayats are as follows: Bantwal— BJP-17 and Congress-16; Belthangady — BJP-19 and Congress-5; Puttur — BJP-16 and Congress 5 and Sullia — BJP-7 and Congress-6.

District Congress Committee President and District In-Charge B Minister B Ramanath Rai expressed confidence that Congress will come to power in the zilla panchayat. The party will also have an upper hand in most of th taluk panchayats, he added.

Dakshina Kannada district BJP unit President Prathapsimha Nayak said the party will come to power with majority in zilla panchayat and five taluk panchayats in the district. The BJP will win more than 25 seats in the zilla panchayat, he stated.

In Udupi

Elaborate arrangements have been made for a smooth counting of votes in the temple town.

The fate of seventy-seven candidates who have contested in 26 zilla panchayat constituencies and 233 candidates in 98 taluk panchayat constituencies in Udupi district will be decided by noon.

The counting of votes will begin at three centres at 8 am. St Cecily's School, Ajjarkadu, Udupi taluk and Manjunath Pai Memorial Government First Grade College, Karkala and Bhandarkar's Arts and Science College, Kundapur, are the counting centres in the district.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Vishal R?told Deccan Herald that the results are expected by 10.30 or 11 am. The counting of postal ballots will begin at 8 am and the actual counting of the vostes cast through electronic voting machines (EVMs) will begin by 8.30 am, he added.

In Udupi taluk, there are 33 tables for counting the votes of 11 zilla panchayat seats. Two staffers have been deployed (counting supervisor and counting assistant) for each table. There are more than 256 postal ballots in Udupi. The postal ballot in Udupi will be counted in RO table, Udupi RO Yogeshwar said.

The number of agents, who will be present at the centres, will be decided based on the number of candidates. There are 41 tables for taluk panchayat constituencies. The counting will begin with postal ballots.The counting of votes is expected to be completed within 15 rounds. However, one extra round is expected as only Perdur zilla panchayat constituency will be pending in the last round. Each round may take maximum 10-12 minutes for counting. Counting of all constituencies will begin at a time, he added.

Kundapur Assistant Commissioner Ashwathi S said there are 15 tables each for two rooms for the counting of the zilla panchayat election votes. There are a total of 30 tables for 10 zilla panchayat constituencies. Three EVMs have been earmarked for each table. For taluk panchayat, three rooms are arranged for the purpose, with 12 tables each in two rooms and 13 tables in another room, the assistant commissioner said.

Karkala RO Prasanna said 15 tables have been arranged for counting purpose for five zilla panchayat constituencies and each constituency has been given three tables. As many as 20 tables have been arranged for the counting of votes in 20 taluk panchayat seats --- one table for each constituency. Two staffers will be deployed for vote counting purpose, he added.

Superintendent of Police Annamalai said adequate security arrangements have been made and IPC Section 144 has been clamped in and around the counting centres. Police, one each platoon of KSRP and DARP have been allotted in each centre for security. The victory celebrations have been banned in the district, he added.

Out of the 77 candidates in zilla panchayat election, 26 each are from Congress and BJP, six from JD(S), four each from BSP and CPI(M) and 11 are independents. There are 26 zilla panchayat seats (Kundapur 10, Udupi 11 and Karkala five) in the district. As many as 233 nominees are in the race for the taluk panchayat seats. Among them, 98 each are from Congress and BJP, 10 from JD(S), 12 from CPI (M), one from SDPI and 14 are independents.There are 98 taluk panchayat constituencies in the district. Among them, 37 constituencies are in Kundapur, 41 in Udupi and 20 in Karkala taluks.