Mangaluru: The BJP has swept the town panchayat elections held in Kotekar and Vittla, according to the results of elections made public on Thursday.

The BJP, as in past won 11 seats in the 17 wards of the Kotekar Town Panchayat, emerging as the dominant party. The Congress, which had won four seats in the previous elections, retained its four seats.

Lone seat

The SDPI, which had won one seat in the previous elections, has managed to retain the seat. The lone seat was won by an independent while the CPM had to taste defeat by not winning any seat in this elections.

Former president Udaykumar Shetty, members Dheeraj Kusalnagar and Divya Satish Shetty among others, were elected for the second time. In ward number 13 (Paaneeri), SDPI candidate Selima Hasina Shamir polled 229 votes and managed to defeat Congress candidate Safiya by a margin of three votes.

Vitla Town Panchayat

The BJP won 12 seats in the 18 wards of the Vitla town panchayat.

According to results, the Congress won five seats and the SDPI one seat. In the previous elections, the BJP had won 12 seats and the Congress had won six seats.

Wafer-thin margin

Former Congress MLA Shakuntala Shetty said that two Congress candidates were defeated by a wafer-thin margin.