The ruling Congress retained power in the Kalaburagi City Corporation, with relative ease, bagging both the Mayor’s and the Deputy Mayor’s posts in the elections held here on Monday.
Two-time corporator Bhimreddy Patil, a close confidant of Municipal Administration Minister Qamarul Islam and elected from Ward No 15, defeated the Opposition-sponsored Prabhuling Hadimani, who was elected on the erstwhile KJP ticket from Ward No 17, by 23 votes for the Mayor’s post. While Mr. Bhimreddy Patil polled 40 votes, Mr. Hadimani could manage only 17 votes in the house of 62 members with five members remaining absent.
Sharanamma Y. Naikodi of the Congress was elected Deputy Mayor unanimously. While the post of the Mayor was reserved for general category, the Deputy Mayor’s post was reserved for Scheduled Tribes (Women) and Ms. Naikodi was the only eligible corporator.
The election was conducted incamera and presspersons were kept out of the meeting hall. Last-minute efforts by Mr. Islam to persuade the presiding officer of the elections and Regional Commissioner Aditya Amlan Biswas to allow presspersons to cover the election failed.
Incidentally, the Congress’s performance surprised many because the party’s strength in the corporation was only 23 and for the first time the party candidate won 40 votes to decimate the opposition candidate.
Cross-voting in the opposition ranks and the solid support of the independent members enabled the Congress sail smoothly in the elections.
Apart from all the 23 Congress corporators voting for Mr. Patil, eight independent corporators, four corporators from the Janata Dal (Secular) and two belonging to the erstwhile KJP voted for the Congress party along with the party legislators Mr. Islam, G. Ramakrishna and Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi.
Mr Hadimani’s total votes of 17 included seven votes of the BJP, six from the Janata Dal (Secular) and four of the erstwhile KJP.
Surprisingly none of the legislators belonging to the BJP including Dattatretya Patil Revoor, Amarnath Patil and K.B. Shanappa failed to turn up to cast their votes. Mohammad Faisal elected on KJP ticket also remained absent. Congress MP M. Mallikarjun Kharge was also absent.
