more-in With less than a fortnight for the mayoral polls, political parties are busy wooing independent councillors. On Saturday, Congress leaders led by KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao met them in a private hotel on Palace Road. According to sources, six of the eight independent candidates in the BBMP Council turned up. They are Ramesh N. (Marathahalli), C.R. Lakshminarayan (Domlur), Elumalai V. (Sagaipuram), Anand Kumar S. (Hoysala Nagar), M. Chandrappa Reddy (Konena Agrahara) and Gayathri M. (Kempapura Agrahara). The ones who skipped were Ulsoor councillor Mamatha S. and Mujahid Pasha (Siddapura). Earlier this week, the independents had met BJP leader R. Ashok. “The BJP had made attempts to poach these candidates. Saturday’s meeting was to have an interaction with the councillors in the wake of these developments,” said a legislator privy to the proceedings. The mayoral polls are scheduled for September 28. At present, the council is led by the Congress-JD(S) coalition with the former having 75 councillors and the latter 15. The BJP has 100 councillors. Independents add up to eight. This apart, there are 28 MLAs, 13 MPs and 19 MLCs. According to legislators in the ruling coalition, the Congress and JD(S) would continue its coalition in the civic body.

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