Mysuru: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s arrival in the city has had a visible effect on the mood of the Congress activists, with the senior leader likely to play a decisive role in the party bagging the mayor’s seat in the elections due on November 17. Congress corporators and workers in the city are eager to ensure that the party, which will stake claim in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) council in an alliance with the JD(S), gets the post of the mayor.Siddaramaiah, who interacted with Congress corporators on Saturday, is also reportedly keen on getting the coveted post for one of the party leaders. Besides speaking to aspirants for the mayor’s post within his party, Siddaramaiah is also making efforts to reach out to senior JD(S) leaders in Mysuru including district in-charge minister GT Devegowda and tourism minister SR Mahesh. The former CM’s arrival in the city coincides with corporators from both Congress and JD(S) lobbying hard for the mayor’s post within their respective parties.While the mayor’s post has been reserved for a woman in the general category, that of the deputy mayor has been set aside for backward community (B) this year.Mysuru District Congress Committee president R Murthy opined that his party deserved to get the mayor’s post since it had bagged more seats in the council. “We have spoken to the party leadership about wanting the mayor’s post for the Congress. There are five aspirants for the post, including two former mayors Pushpalatha Jagannath and HM Shanthakumari. Three first-time corporators are also vying for the post,” said Murthy.Former mayor and Congress leader Ayub Khan said that Hajira Seem, who was elected from Ward 34 was another contender for the post. “Hajira is former corporator Showkath Pasha’s life,” said Khan.Meanwhile, in the JD(S), Prema S (Ward 2), Bhagya (Ward 19), Ashwini Ananthu (Ward 37), Savita Suresh (Ward 44) and Tasneem (Ward 26) are among those in contention for the mayor’s post. Former mayor and JD(S) leader MJ Ravikumar said that the party’s top brass would decide on who would get the post just before the polls. “Even within the party, we are yet to finalise on the candidate for the polls,” said Ravikumar.In the elections to the MCC council that were held in September, BJP emerged as the single largest party in the polls held to 65 municipal wards bagging 22 seats, while the Congress, with 19, and JD(S), with 18, slotted in second and third respectively. However, the BJP was denied a chance to stake claim to power in the house with the Congress and JD(S) stitching a post-poll alliance. Moreover, the solitary corporator from Bahujan Samaj Party and five Independents are likely to ally with the Congress-JD(S) combine.In the mayoral elections , the winning candidate must win 37 votes since the council also comprises eight legislators including four MLAs from Mysuru city, and one Lok Sabha MP.

Stay updated with all the Latest Mysore headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.