Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed get a clear majority in elections to Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), the results of which were announced on September 6.
BJP has won 39 seats. The party is just three short of the magic number of 42 in the 82-member civic body.
Six independent were elected. They are mainly rebel candidates of the BJP and Congress.
Congress has improved its position by winning 33 seats much to the embarrassment of BJP leaders, including Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, and Textile Minister Shankar Patil Munenakoppa.
AIMIM, which participated in HDMC elections for the first time, won three of the 11 seats where the party had fielded candidates.
JD(S) won just one seat, down from nine in the last election.
AAP fielded candidates in 41 wards but failed to make any impact.
Before delimitation, the total number of seats in the HDMC was 67. The party position in the outgoing corporation was: BJP 33, Congress 22, JD(S) 9, KJP 1, Independents 2.
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There are 82 wards in the municipal corporation and 420 candidates were in fray.
The twin cities have eight MLAs, MLCs and one MP who have voting power in the civic body. Of these, six belong BJP and two to the Congress. Chairman of the legislative council Basavaraj Horatti also has a vote.
