The Congress has queered the pitch for the Mayoral polls in Mysuru scheduled for December 7 by seeking to align with the JD(S) and share power in the civic body.
The JD(S) and BJP had been sharing power in the hung Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) for the last three years, forcing the Congress to play the role of Opposition in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s home district.
While Congress councillors have been bringing pressure on their party leadership, including Mr. Siddaramaiah, to make a bid for controlling the civic body to spur developmental works in the city during Congress rule in the State, Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa on Monday revealed that the Congress leadership had approached the JD(S) leaders with the proposal to share power.
Congress councillors said talks were under way between the leaders of their party and JD(S). But, a JD (S) leader, who was privy to the discussions, said the Congress was ready to settle for the post of Deputy Mayor and Chairpersons of two out of the four Standing Panels. “They want us to drop the alliance with BJP so that they can align with us,” the leader said.
But, Mr. Bhyrappa, who belongs to JD(S), said a final decision would be taken by the party leadership. The senior leadership has left the decision to MLAs S.R. Mahesh, G.T. Deve Gowda and Sandesh Nagaraj.
Meanwhile, JD(S) councillors, which is keen to retain the Mayor post, are scheduled to leave for a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru and return only for the Mayoral polls on Wednesday. “A meeting of the party councillors will be held on Tuesday evening at the resort,” a party leader said.
The front-runners in the race for the post of Mayor from JD(S) include M.J. Ravi Kumar, also known as Chinni Ravi, who represents ward number 35, K.T. Cheluve Gowda, who represents ward number 27, and K.V. Mallesh, who represents ward number 18.
While the Mayor post has been reserved for a candidate from the general category, the Deputy Mayor’s post has been reserved for a woman from the general category. BJP’s Seema Prasad and Rathna are reportedly in the race for this post.
Meanwhile, the JD(S) made up the cancellation of the membership of C. Mahadesh, who was convicted in a 2008 murder case, with the entry of Ashwini Ananth, an Independent councillor from ward number 58. Ms. Ananth had contested the elections after the death of her husband and Congress councillor Ananth.
