Dharwad: When the whole state is discussing the possibility of Operation Kamala, which may make way for the fall of the JDS-Congress coalition government, in Dharwad the Congress was able to win the Zilla Panchayat president post through Operation Hasta.
It lured four BJP Zilla Panchayat members who stayed in a resort for over a week and arrived at the meeting venue along with the former minister and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni. They voted against the president resulting in the defeat of the BJP.
In the 22 member Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, the BJP was in power over the last 36 months, with the help of an independent member. But the Congress was able to snatch four members of the BJP into its fold. On Tuesday, at the time of no-confidence motion, ZP president Chaitra Shirura lost the confidence motion by a margin of four votes.
The four BJP rebels who shifted to the Congress camp arrived from a resort directly to the meeting hall. They were escorted by a former minister, Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni.
BJP local leaders including former CM Jagadish Shettar questioned the morality of Congress leaders saying they are following different yardsticks at different levels of power.
