Till Thursday, names of JD(S) corporators Mahadevappa and B M Nataraj were doing rounds as the strong contenders for mayor’s post.
B L Bhyrappa, a new entrant to the party, sprang a surprise emerging lucky to be elected as the first citizen of Mysuru on Friday.
Bhyrappa, who claimed to be a consensual candidate, owed his election to JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, the party’s State unit president H D Kumaraswamy and a host of other leaders from the party, when media persons sought to know about his ‘surprise elevation’.
Buttressing his victory, Bhyrappa claimed, “I had joined JD(S) when I was elected the chairman of Taxation, Finance and Appeals Standing Committee at the MCC, a year ago”. However, what raised the eyebrows of many, including those in the JD(S), was the rise of Bhyrappa, a party hopper. Bhyrappa started his political career with Congress in the early 1980s. A seasoned politician, Bhyrappa was a machine operator at Vikrant Factory (now J K Tyres) for 18 years, till he quit in 2003.
Bhyrappa, who ventured into his own business as a civil contractor, successfully contested the elections to the MCC from the same ward on a BJP ticket in 2008. When former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa quit the saffron party and relaunched Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), Bhyrappa quit the BJP and joined KJP. He sought re-election on a KJP ticket from the same ward in 2013 and emerged victorious.
When Yeddyurappa returned to his parent party and merged the KJP with BJP, a miffed Bhyrappa remained neutral and supported the JD(S)-BJP alliance. He later joined the JD(S).
Unlike Bhyrappa, Mahadevappa is a senior JD(S) leader. He has also served as deputy mayor in the past. Nataraj, who had drifted away from Congress and contested on a JD(S) ticket in 2013, had won in his maiden election. He was also senior in the organisation compared to Bhyrappa.
Vanita, who was elected deputy mayor, had won on Congress ticket in the previous term, before joining the BJP.
Published 13 November 2015, 18:03 IST