With the coalition partners reaching an understanding to share power in the hung Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) after hard bargaining, the Congress’s Pushpalatha Jagannath was elected Mayor while Shafi Ahmed of JD(S) was chosen Deputy Mayor.
The understanding came after much behind-the-scene confabulations between leaders of the coalition partners, both of whom were vying for the coveted post of Mayor.
The mayoral polls had assumed importance as yet another test for the two parties — who share power in the State and plan to fight Lok Sabha polls together — to iron out differences.
The post of Mayor will be occupied by the Congress during the first and third term, while the JD(S) candidate will adorn this post during the second, fourth and fifth term, according to a power-sharing formula between the two parties.
In the 65-member MCC, BJP had won 22 seats, while the Congress bagged 19 and JD(S) 18. The BSP had won one seat while Independents triumphed in five other seats. The Congress bagged the post of Mayor after a gap of five years.
During the elections conducted by Regional Commissioner V. Yesvant on Saturday, Ms. Jagannath secured 48 votes against the 24 votes polled by BJP’s mayoral nominee Sunanda Palanetra. Mr. Ahmed beat BJP’s Satish to the post of Deputy Mayor by polling 48 votes against his rival’s 24.
Though former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who sought the Mayor’s post for Congress earlier, claimed he was not interfering in the talks, he is believed to have played a key role in securing the Mayor’s post for Congress. The election of a Congress candidate as Mayor of Mysuru is perceived to have bolstered his position in the coalition arrangement.
District in-charge Minister G.T. Deve Gowda, who was keen on securing the top post for JD(S), said: “It was not as per my wish. The decision to give the post to Congress was taken by the party leadership.”
