MCC polls: JD(S) likely to join hands with BJP

Political activities gain momentum ahead of the election of the 23rd Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mysuru city. With JD(S) likely to extend support to the BJP, in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), the Congress would be kept away from Mayorship again.

Though BJP, with 22 corporators, is the single largest party in the MCC, it was in the Opposition for the first two terms of the council, as the JD(S) and the Congress formed a coalition for the first two terms. With the relationship between the JD(S) and the Congress getting worse, the JD(S) is planning to go with the BJP. According to BJP leaders, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has agreed to join hands with the JD(S).

The term of Mayor Tasneem of JD(S) ended on January 19 and the reservation for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor is yet to be announced. It has to be recalled that Tasneem had sought an extension of the term, claiming that she could not take up development works, due to outbreak of Covid-19. In the first term, the Congress corporator Pushpalatha Jagannath was the major.

With 22 corporators, the BJP is the single-largest party in the MCC. The Congress has 19 and the JD(S) has 18 members. In addition, the council has five Independents and one BSP corporator. The strength of the house is 74, including MLAs, MLCs and MP.

As per the agreement between the Congress and the JD(S) in 2018, the Mayor's post was reserved for the Congress, in first and third term. But, now, the JD(S) is trying to extend support to the BJP and is eyeing the Mayor's post. However, it is yet to be decided and a final call will be taken after the reservation is announced, said a JD(S) leader, adding that there was discussion over going with the BJP.

It has to be mentioned that JD(S) leader Sa Ra Mahesh, a former minister and KR Nagar MLA, had said that a few former mayors of the Congress were not treating the present mayor properly. “There is still time to think about the possibility of a new alliance,” he said.

However, the Congress leaders are hopeful that the present alliance between the JD(S) and the Congress will remain intact and the party leaders will decide over the alliance, said a Congress corporator, who wished to maintain anonymity.