BackBJP set to regain control of Bengaluru civic body
The disqualification of 5 Bengaluru MLAs and some independents going with the BJP may give it the edge in the upcoming mayoral polls, scheduled to take place on 27 SeptThe civic body houses over 20% of the state’s population and has a budget outlay of over ₹11,000 crore
PremiumBengaluru: After a gap of four years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to regain control of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, after the coalition between the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) and Congress collapsed in June.
The disqualification of five legislators from Bengaluru and the decision of some of the seven independents to side with the BJP may give the saffron outfit the edge in the upcoming mayoral elections, scheduled to take place on 27 September.
“The alliance has split and BJP has more than enough numbers," said one BJP councillor, requesting not to be named.
The opportunity coming after four years when the BJP, despite being the single largest party in the 2015 BBMP polls, had to settle for the opposition benches when the Congress and JD(S) joined hands to secure power in one of India’s biggest city corporations.
Control of the BBMP is crucial for Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa-led BJP government as the civic body also houses over 20% of the state’s population and has a budget outlay of over ₹11,000 crore.
N.R. Ramesh, BJP spokesperson and former councillor said BBMP is the second largest corporation in the country spread over 840 square kilometers.
The BJP government also wants to win the perception battle of who controls the administration in Bengaluru, one of the biggest software exporters in the country and housing one of the biggest start-up and e-commerce ecosystems.
But the crumbling infrastructure in Bengaluru has given the BJP enough ammunition to attack the Congress-JD(S) with the former claiming it will be able to fix the city’s problems.
The Congress holds the mayor’s post and the JD(S) holds the deputy mayors post in the current set up.
Out of the total 198 councillors, the BJP has 101, the Congress has 76, the JD(S) has 14 and seven are independents. The JD(S) tally shrunk to 13 as Ramila Umashankar, its deputy mayor and councillor from Kaveripura ward died last year, a week after she took over.
Apart from the 101 councillors, the BJP has the support of four Lok Sabha members, two from Rajya Sabha, 11 members of legislative assembly (MLA) and seven members of the legislative council (MLC), taking its total to over 126.
The Congress has one Lok Sabha member, six Rajya Sabha members, 11 MLA’s and 10 MLC’s taking its total to 104.
The JD(S) has the support of one Rajya Sabha member, one MLA, and five MLC, taking its total to 20.
With senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy snubbed by the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government, there is little hope that the two sides will be able to muster up numbers to defeat the BJP.
BBMP councillors and party leaders from the JD(S) and Congress said the five disqualified legislators control at least 20 corporators and are likely to side with the BJP. BBMP corporators cannot be disqualified for abstaining from voting and there is no mention of the word ‘whip’ in the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act 1976.
At least two JD(S) legislators, four independents and 20 other supporters of the disqualified legislators are expected to side with the BJP. “The disqualified legislators are already with the BJP and their supporters are also likely to vote for us," said another BJP councillor and one of the front runners for the mayor’s post.
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