The ruling Congress was on Tuesday ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections in Karnataka as the two parties were locked in a keen contest.
The two-phased elections were held on February 13 and 20 and the counting of votes is underway since Tuesday morning.
Of the total 1,083 zilla panchayat seats, results have been declared for 913 so far and the Congress has bagged 428 of them while the BJP won 359, the state election commission said.
While former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal-Secular has won 98 seats, independents have bagged 26 seats and others have been victorious in two seats.
In the taluk panchayats, results for 3,186 out of 3,884 seats have been declared so far.
The Congress has won in 1,403 taluk panchayat seats, while the BJP and JD-S have won 1,123 and 472 seats respectively. 147 independents are among the victorious candidates.
A total of 73.94 per cent voting was recorded in the first phase held on February 13 while the second phase saw a voter turn out of 69.32 per cent.
The outcome of the grassroots level elections would reflect the political mood in the state and give the people's perception of the three-year old Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has, however, maintained that the results would not be a referendum on the performance of his government as local issues dominate the local bodies poll.
