Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Independent) and Independent MLC D U Mallikarjuna on Tuesday pledged their support for the BJP in the Bengaluru mayoral election.
In a scenario where every vote in the electoral college to decide the next mayor of Bengaluru counts, the two who have the voting right said they were with the BJP.
“I will definitely vote for the BJP as I am part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre,” Chandrashekhar told Deccan Herald.
He ridiculed the claim of the Congress that it too had the right to have its own mayor. “This claim is quite ridiculous and is against the people’s mandate, which is for the BJP,” he said.
He, however, maintained that his vote to the BJP was not an endorsement of whatever misrule that had happened in the BBMP in the past five years. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision for providing a corruption-free governance, which also includes wiping out this vice from urban governance,” Chandrashekhar added.
Mallikarjuna too vowed to vote for the BJP as he called himself a BJP man. “Irrespective of my proximity to JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, I am a BJP man and this truth will not hamper my personal relationship with Kumaraswamy,” he said.
MLC Raghu Achar preferred to maintain secrecy over his choice. He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda have spoken to him, but still he hasn’t made up his mind. “ I have time till September 11. Let’s see how the things work up,” he said.
Attempts to reach the two other key independent voters of the electoral college, Rajya Sabha members Vijay Mallya and B Jayashree went in vain.
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