Putting an end to the confusion and curiosity over the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) mayoral polls, BJP’s M Gowtham Kumar has been elected as the 53rd Mayor of Bengaluru. Kumar is also the first North-Indian origin Mayor of the city.
Amidst twists and turn since Monday evening till the last minute of the voting process, Gowtham Kumar, who was unanimously chosen by the Karnataka BJP unit, won the contest by a simple majority. Gowtham, two-time corporator from Jogupalya ward in Shantinagar assembly constituency secured 129 votes in his favour and 110 votes against his candidature.
Congress-JD(S) Mayoral candidate R S Sathyanarayana secured 112 votes in his favour and 129 votes against his candidature. In the meantime, two JDS corporators boycotted the polls and staged a walkout.
Headed for a smooth polling process, the Mayoral poll took a turn when BJP’s Padmanabha Reddy also filed his nomination as the party’s candidate. Even though his nomination did trigger confusion among the BJP leaders, towards the end, Reddy withdrew the nomination and backed off from the race making it easier for Gowtham.
