Leaders of the Congress and JD(S) met in Mysuru on Wednesday to reaffirm their understanding to share power in the hung Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) ahead of the January 18 mayoral polls.
According to the understanding reached in November 2018, the post of Mayor would go to the Congress for two terms while the JD(S) will bag the post thrice.
As the Congress had already been given the post in the first term with Pushpalatha Jagannath becoming the Mayor, the post will go now to the JD(S) in the coming elections, said Mysuru City Congress Committee president R. Murthy.
The meeting convened by JD(S) leader and former Minister S.R. Mahesh was attended also attended by former Mayors from the Congress party Ayub Khan and Arif Hussain, besides Mysuru City JD(S) chief K.T. Cheluve Gowda. “We met to reiterate our commitment to the understanding between the two parties and to continue for the remainder of the MCC’s term”, said Mr. Murthy.
The Congress has 19 members while the JD(S) has 18 members in the 65-member MCC. The BJP has 22 members.
While the post of Mayor, which has been reserved for BCA (Women), will go to JD (S), the Deputy Mayor’s post reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate will go Congress in the coming polls, he said.
The JD (S) has four aspirants, who belong to the group reserved for the post of Mayor. The Congress too has four corporators eligible for the post of Deputy Mayor.
The partners will also share the posts of chairpersons of the four standing committees. Each of the standing committees will have seven members with Congress and JD(S) having two members each and the BJP three members. “But, we will share the post of chairpersons to be chosen from among the seven members”, he said. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) observer and former Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is expected to arrive in Mysuru to oversee the polls.
Meanwhile, the MCC, in a statement, has said that the mayoral polls will be held at 11.30 a.m. on August 18 at Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar auditorium of MCC premises. Regional Commissioner of Mysuru will preside over the elections.
In the statement, MCC Commissioner Gurudutt Hegde said the nomination papers for the post of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and members of the Standing Committees can be obtained from the office of MCC’s Council Secretary. The nomination papers will be accepted till 7.30 a.m. on January 18.
