Congress, BJP to finalise their mayoral candidates tomorrow

Both parties scheduled to hold a meeting on Thursday

The Congress and the BJP will be holding separate meetings in the City on Thursday to finalise their candidates for the post of mayor and deputy mayor of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

Sources in the Congress said that Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, five ministers from Bengaluru and some prominent party leaders will meet on Thursday to select the candidates. The post of deputy mayor is likely to go to the JD(S), which has extended its support to the Congress in the BBMP. One or two independent corporators are likely to be made heads of some standing committees, sources added.

Congress corporators-elect, who are staying in luxury resorts in Madikeri, are likely to be shifted to resorts near Bengaluru on September 10, a day before the mayoral elections. Six independent corporators-elect are also staying in the same resorts in Madikeri, the sources said.

The BJP will also be holding a day-long meeting on Thursday in the City to prepare its corporators for the September 11 BBMP mayoral polls.

All non-corporators who are in the voters list for the mayoral polls will be attending the meeting scheduled to be held at the BJP headquarters in Malleswaram. The party will also finalise its candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor post at the meeting. At present, the Congress-JD(S)-independents combine holds an upper hand in the mayoral election and taking control of the BBMP Council. The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the BBMP polls, is falling short of five votes to reach the magic number of 131 required to take control of BBMP Council.

BJP City President N Subba Narasimha said as many of the corporators are new to electoral politics, senior leaders will guide the them on the voting procedure at the BBMP Council.

On Tuesday, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy met Congress leader and deputy chairman of State Planning Board C M Ibrahim. The meeting has assumed significance in the wake of JD(S) joining hands with the Congress to hold the reins of power in the BBMP. However, it was not clear as to what the two leaders discussed during the meeting.