BBMP election result by 2 pm
Outcome will be litmus test for BJP government’s performance
For the last one week, political parties and candidates in the State have been waiting for this day with their fingers crossed.
By Monday afternoon, the fate of as many as 1,336 aspiring candidates, who have contested the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections, will be known.
The counting at 27 centres, under the observation of the State Election Commission, will start at 8 am and the results will be out by 2 pm.
The party which crosses the magic number 126 in the 250-member council will come to power.
The council has 198 corporators, besides 52 others representing the BBMP area in the State Legislature and Parliament, who are also eligible to vote in the Mayor’s election.
Numbers
The BJP already has 29 votes in its kitty. Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekhar has identified himself with the BJP in the last two years.
If he decides to support the BJP candidate for the Mayor’s post, the party’s pre-counting strength will be 30. This includes 17 MLAs, seven MLCs, three Lok Sabha MPs and three Rajya Sabha MPs. The Congress, which was in power in the last council, already has 16 votes in its favour. They have 10 MLAs, one Lok Sabha MP (Veerappa Moily from Chikkaballapur), two MLCs and three Rajya Sabha MPs.
The JD(S) has six votes –– two Rajya Sabha members, one Lok Sabha member, two MLCs and one MLA.
For the ruling BJP, the election outcome will be a litmus test of its government’s performance in the past two years.
Bangalore had stood by the BJP in both Assembly and the parliamentary elections. Continuing that winning streak is a prestige issue for R Ashok and Katta Subramanya Naidu, who are ministers in charge of Bangalore.
Similarly, the Congress, which had a poor performance to its credit in the recent years, has to show that it is making a come back by winning as many seats as possible.
To come to power in the council, the BJP, which already has 29 seats, has to win 97 of the 198 wards. The party may seek support of Independent candidates or those elected from fringe parties in case of a crisis.
The Congress has to win at least 110 seats to come back to power in the council.
In case of a hung council, the Congress and the JD(S) may join hands. However, this can happen only if the Cong-JD(S) alliance wins 104 wards.
The State Government has reserved the Mayor’s post for 2A category and the Deputy Mayor’s post is unreserved (General).
Meanwhile, the police have taken elaborate measures to main law and order situation on the counting day. Around 200 policemen, including inspectors, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors and 150 home guards, have been pressed into service. One platoon of City Armed Reserve Police and one platoon of Karnataka State Reserve Police will be stationed near every counting centre.
