The JD(S), which has shared power with both BJP and Congress in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), is playing its cards to its chest ahead of the impending Mayoral polls.
Though the tenure of Mayor Tasneem from the JD(S) and Deputy Mayor C. Sridhar from the Congress ended earlier this month, the next Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be elected only after the State government makes an announcement on the reservation for the two posts.
The JD(S), which shared power with the BJP in the previous Council, has tied up with the Congress in the present Council, which is also hung. But, the relationship between the JD(S) and Congress has soured at the State level after the collapse of the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.
The JD(S), which has 18 members in the 65-member MCC, is being wooed by both the BJP, which has 22 members, and Congress, which has 19 members.
Former Minister and JD(S) MLA S.R. Mahesh, who had recently held a meeting and declared that the party would prefer to sit in the Opposition, on Wednesday claimed that the party’s present position with regard to Mayoral polls is “neutral”. He said the party will not take any decision on an alliance till the government announces the reservation for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. “Both the parties are our political rivals”, he said.
Though some JD(S) corporators and a few former Mayors had brought to the party leadership’s attention the ‘misbehaviour’ by some Congress leaders, he said the party leaders’ relationship with other Congress leaders in the district is intact. He said it would be inappropriate to blame the entire party for the misbehaviour of a few of them.
Former Minister and Congress MLA Tanveer Sait had recently said the party’s alliance with the JD(S) was valid for a full term. While the Congress had its Mayor in the first term – Pushpalatha Jagannath – the second term saw Ms. Tasneem from the JD(S) bagging the coveted post. As per the understanding, the Congress will get the Mayor’s post for the third term while the JD(S) nominee will occupy the post of Mayor for the last two terms.
Meanwhile, the BJP is keen to revive its alliance of the previous Council with the JD(S). BJP leaders from the district have already made overtures to the JD(S). The saffron party is looking to occupy the post of Mayor in Mysuru for the first time by claiming that a BJP Mayor will help take up more programmes and projects for the city as it enjoys the advantage of having its own party government in the State.
