Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party has won the control of the Bengaluru civic body for the second term in the bitterly fought election, with the outcome coming as a setback for the ruling Congress party and to chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Upsetting Congress plans to wrest control of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council with an all out offensive, the BJP won 100 wards out of 198, as the results were declared by the state election commission for the polls held on August 22.
After its wins in the civic polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Bengaluru results make it three in a row for the BJP, which weathered an aggressive campaign led from the front by the chief minister himself against its rule in BBMP.
Congress bagged 76, JDS headed by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda 14 and others eight, according to BBMP officials.
Admitting that the results are not according to his party's expectations, Siddaramaiah said, "We had expected a simple majority for Congress." He said, "This result is not a referendum on my government, but as a chief minister I own responsibility for the debacle."
