The Congress moved court on November 16 in its tussle with the BJP for control of Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and former Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said that the party has filed a writ petition in the Kalaburagi bench of the High court of Karnataka, which might be heard on November 17.
A few days ago, Mr. Patil had accused the BJP of trying to include seven of its MLCs in the voters’ list of Kalaburagi though they were not residents of the city. The move would make the MLCs eligible to vote in the elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and help the party take control of the civic body. According to him, Laxman Savadi, Bharati Shetty, Saibanna Talwar, Lehar Singh, Pratap Naik, Raghunath Malkapure and Muniratna had applied for addition of their names to the voters’ list of Kalaburagi city claiming that they are local residents.
In the 55-member civic body, no party has enough seats to get its members elected as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Congress is the single-largest party with 27 seats followed by BJP with 23. JD(S) has four seats, and there is one independent member. Congress has two more votes, that of an MLA and a Rajya Sabha member, taking its strength on the floor to 29. BJP has six more votes – that of three MLCs, two MLAs and a Lok Sabha member – to match the strength of the Congress.
“After sensing that the Congress would enter into a coalition with the JD(S), BJP began plotting to enter from the back door and capture the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Efforts to include its MLCs in the electoral rolls of Kalaburagi city are a part of its game plan to increase its numbers during a vote. We have already raised objections before the authorities concerned and have also filed a writ petition,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu on November 16.
He claimed that inclusion of the MLCs in the voters’ list of Kalaburagi would be a violation of norms and a Supreme Court ruling.
“One has to be an ordinary resident of a city for at least six months to be eligible for inclusion of his/her name in the electoral rolls as per a Supreme Court ruling. None of these MLCs are residents of Kalaburagi,” Mr. Patil said.
