The uncertain political scenario and the final call of the Speaker on the resignation of MLAs — especially six of them from Bengaluru — may also impact the power structure in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council.
Congress councillors from the five Assembly segments represented by Ramalinga Reddy (BTM Layout), R. Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), S.T. Somashekar (Yeshwantpur), Byrathi Basavaraj (K.R. Puram), and Munirathna (R.R. Nagar) are considering jumping ship to the BJP, along with their leaders. The five Congress MLAs have resigned from their Assembly membership, while rumours are rife that they will join the BJP. JD(S) councillors from Mahalakshmi Layout segment, represented by K. Gopalaiah, are also likely to tread the same path.
Multiple councillors from these Assembly constituencies confirmed the development to The Hindu . “We are waiting for the Speaker’s decision with regard to the resignation of our MLAs. If they move to the BJP and an alternative government is formed, we will be left with little choice than follow them,” said a councillor who did not wish to be named. Another councillor said the rebel MLAs who are all set to join the BJP are “strong leaders”. “We cannot survive in the constituency and win an election again if we antagonise them at this point,” he said. In the list of those likely to move over is also Mr. Gopalaiah’s wife, S.P. Hemalatha, chairperson of the BBMP’s Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance and former Deputy Mayor.
There are 45 councillors in the six Assembly constituencies. Of them, 31 councillors are with the Congress and the JD(S). In the five Assembly segments represented by the Congress, there are 24 party councillors, and in the one segment represented by the JD(S), there are four councillors from the regional party.
These 28 councillors are likely to switch sides, according to senior Congress councillors. They include Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun as well. She, however, has till date denied she would switch sides. Her tenure ends in September 2019. Senior councillors said the likely defection by Congress and JD(S) councillors may happen during the Mayoral polls scheduled to be held in two months.
However, according to a mayoral aspirant, if the councillors resign, they will be disqualified under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution for defection. “The council’s tenure ends in 2020. They may opt for mass resignation, forcing dissolution of the council or they may just abstain from voting in the mayoral polls, which will pave the way for a BJP member to become the Mayor,” said the aspirant who conceded that he had almost given up hope.
“If the coalition government falls, the city is most likely to have a BJP Mayor next,” he said.
The councillor explained that the JD(S) and the Congress came together to capture power in the BBMP in 2015 because the Congress was also in power in the State. “But if a BJP government is formed in the State, there is nothing that can stop the party from capturing the BBMP as well. The logic has always been that the same party holding power in both the State and the BBMP will ensure better funding for the civic body,” he said.
