The announcement of byelections to four Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru has cast the shade of uncertainty over the elections to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Bengaluru, scheduled to be held on September 27.
The mayoral elections are being seen as a crucial test for all three major parties — BJP, Congress and JD(S) — especially the coalition partners who are holding down the fort in the civic body after the Congress-JD(S) government was toppled by the BJP. At a press conference here on Saturday, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar, who is also the District Election Officer, said the civic body would seek clarification from the Election Commission on whether the mayoral polls could be held. “The ruling party leader has given a representation saying that the mayoral polls will influence voters in the byelections. We are writing to the CEO for clarification,” he said.
In the representation, ruling party leader Abdul Wajid has sought that the mayoral polls be put off. He told The Hindu that elections to standing committees should be postponed as well. “With the model code of conduct being put in place in Bengaluru Urban and Rural, the new Mayor will not any way be able to make any announcements. In addition to this, those elected as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and those elected to the standing committees, are likely to influence voters in the constituencies going to the polls,” he said.
A total of 14.14 lakh voters are to vote in bypolls in Yeshwantpur, K.R. Puram, Mahalakshmi Layout and Shivajinagar.
