Next City Mayor could be one of the Geethas

 As the term of the present Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy draws closer, three Geethas have made the fight for the coveted post in the City quite interesting.

Murthy's Mayoral inning ends in April but a rat race has already begun. The post of Mayor for the next term has been reserved for woman from general category and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council has 36 women corporators in all. As Sharadamma was the Mayor a year ago, chances of her becoming the Mayor are quite bleak.

Although the number of eligible candidates for the top post in the City corporation is quite huge, it has been reduced to merely four due to hectic lobbying. According to BJP sources, among the 36 women corporators, four are in with real chance.

Of the four corporators, three have got a common name Geetha -- Geetha Vivekananda (Vijnana Nagar Ward), Geetha Srinivas Reddy (Dommalur Ward) and Geetha Shashi Kumar (Attur Ward). The fourth aspirant is said to be Shantha Kumari (Moodalapalya ward).

Although quite reserved, Geetha Vivekananda has been in active politics since 1996. She was elected to the KR Puram, City Municipal Corporation (CMC) in 1996 and was Vice President for a year.

“As vice president of the CMC, I had contributed much for the growth of the area, which helped me win the BBMP election later. I was also the General Secretary of the State BJP Mahila Morcha and held positions in the BJP at district level,” said Geetha Vivekananda in support of her candidature.

Another aspirant, Geetha Srinivas Reddy, is aware of the fact that her rise as the Mayor depends upon the party leadership in the City as well as the State. “Our City is fast losing its glory as Garden City, which I think we need to ponder over. I also find renting or leasing out of high-valued Palike properties at paltry amount for 25 years or 50 years. These rates should be rationalised keeping the prevailing rates of the properties in mind. We have to strengthen horticulture department, education department and the legal section,” said Reddy.

The third aspirant Geetha Shashikumar had proved her administrative abilities a year ago as the chairperson of the BBMP Standing Committee on Health. As a wannabe Mayor, she exudes confidence on her party that they would choose the right candidate for the most sought after post among the corporators.

Moodalapalya corporator Shantha Kumari had tried her luck last year but a Lokayukta raid just before the election to the post of Mayor shattered her dreams. While in the BJP circle her name figures prominently for the top post, the ghost of the raids may haunt her again, hampering her aspirations.