People's Democracy

KARNATAKA

CPI(M) Wins 2 ZP, 15 TP Seats

Nithyananda Swamy

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) has won two zilla panchayat (ZP) and 15 taluk panchayat (TP) seats in the recently concluded local body elections in Karnataka. While both the ZP seats the party has won are in Bagepalli, it has captured the Bagepalli taluk panchayat and emerged as the single largest party in the Gudibande taluk panchayat. The party has secured one taluk panchayat seat each in Gulbarga and Udupi districts as well.

The Bagepalli and Gudibande taluks are parts of the Bagepalli assembly constituency which was represented twice by CPI(M) MLA G V Srirama Reddy. He was elected first in 1994 and then in 2004. He lost in 2008 by just 932 votes.

Unlike in most parts of the state, money and caste did not count for much in the Bagepalli and Gudibande taluks of Chikkaballapur district. People here were more worried about the backwardness of the region and are influenced by the developmental works undertaken by G V Srirama Reddy during his tenure as the member of legislative assembly (MLA).

In the recent local body polls, the CPI(M) lost a number of TP seats just by a few votes in the district of Chikkaballapur. In one of these constituencies, the party’s candidate lost by only two votes. It was a direct fight here between the Congress and the CPI(M), and  both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have very little presence in this area. Sustained work among the rural poor and the organisational strength of the party in the district are the factors responsible for the recent enthusing victory. Though the CPI(M) could win only two seats in the Chikkaballapur zilla panchayat, it secured the post of vice president which was a reserved seat.

Gulbarga is another district where the party has considerable influence; it is in the northern part of the state. In the past, the CPI (M) had won one of the ZP seats twice. This time the seat was lost by a narrow margin of 197 votes. But the party has been able to secure one of the taluk panchayat seats, which comes under the same zilla panchayat constituency referred to above. In two other TP seats, the party polled considerable numbers of votes.

In Udupi district, the CPI(M) has succeeded in winning a taluk panchayat seat in Kundapura for the first time. It is a predominantly working class area. Here, a number of tile factories are spread all over in the rural area. These tile workers are organised under the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and have a history of having participated in a bitter struggle for land reforms in the state.

The winning of a few seats in the local body elections this time has enthused the party cadres in other parts of the state also. This time the party fielded the so far highest number of candidates in the local body elections. It contested 35 ZP and 112 TP seats spread over in 19 out of 30 districts and polled a considerable number of votes. The party candidate for ZP seat in Karwar district came third, pushing the BJP to the fourth place. In Belgaum district, ZP candidate of the party secured the third place, pushing the JD(S) to the fourth place. In one of the TP constituencies in Karwar district, the CPI(M) candidate secured the second place pushing the BJP and Congress to the third and fourth place respectively.

The small advance that the party has been able to make is due to the people’s recognition of the party’s initiative in taking up local issues, in conducting struggles and campaigns for implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, on the issue of the public distribution system and also on the issues of farmers, agricultural labourers and unorganised factory workers.