Mysuru gets first BJP mayor in Sunanda Palanetra

BJP Corporator Sunanda Palanetra has been elected as Mayor of Mysuru.

It is for the first time that a BJP corporator is elected as mayor in the history of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC).

Palanetra, corporator of Ward 59 of MCC, is a close relative of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa. She was defeated in the previous Mayor election, held on February 24. She will be the Mayor until February 2022.

As JD(S) broke alliance with the Congress, BJP came to power in the civic body. Until the last minute, Congress leaders made all efforts to gain JD(S) support. But, the JD(S) decided to remain neutral, which resulted in the BJP’s victory.

The alliance discontinued as neither Congress nor JD(S) was ready to give up the Mayor’s post. Both Congress and JD(S) fielded candidates. While Sunanda Palanetra obtained 26 votes, Ashwini Ananthu of JD(S) and H M Shantakumari polled 22 votes each.

However, Congress corporators walked out of the election once the BJP candidate obtained the majority votes. The corporators also raised slogans against the JD(S).

The mayor’s election was necessitated following the disqualification of the membership of previous Mayor Rukmini Madegowda, also a JD(S) worker. The membership of Rukmini was cancelled as Rajani Annaiah of the Congress had filed a petition for filing false assets in the election affidavit in 2018, before a court in Mysuru.