more-in Hectic negotiations have begun ahead of the polls to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor, which are scheduled to be held later this month. While the mayor’s post has been reserved for General (woman) category, the Deputy Mayor’s post has been reserved for the General category. According to sources in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the mayor’s post will go to the Congress, and that of the deputy will go to the alliance partner Janata Dal (Secular). Though reserved for the General category, the probable candidates for both posts are playing the caste card. Two major contenders for the mayor’s post are Gangambike (Jayanagar ward), who is from the Lingayat community, and P. Sowmya Shivakumar (Shanthinagar), who belongs to the Vokkaliga community. Sources said that the Congress is leaning towards making Ms. Gangambike the mayor in a bid to assuage the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community, ahead of the parliamentary elections in 2019. This, they hope, will ensure at least 10% of votes from the community, which largely supports the BJP, will come to the Congress. That apart, Ms. Gangambike’s candidature is being supported by BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy. If elected as mayor, Ms. Shivakumar, on the other hand, will be the first from the Vokkaliga community to hold the post after a gap of over 20 years. Incidentally, she is said to have the support of JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Sources said that Mr. Gowda had reportedly spoken to senior Congress leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, in support of Ms. Shivakumar. Other contenders There are four contenders for the deputy mayor’s post. If the mayor’s post goes to Ms. Gangambike, the deputy mayor’s post will go to a candidate from the Vokkaliga community. Prominent among the contenders for the post are Nethra Narayan, JD(S) Floor Leader, and Bhadre Gowda from Nagapura ward. Both belong to the Vokkaliga community. Meanwhile, the eight independent councillors, who were reportedly being wooed by both the Congress and BJP, have decided to support the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the BBMP council.

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