BANGALORE: Her eyes searched for her husband before she answered any questions from the media.
The new mayor of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Sharadamma, has already become a topic of ridicule for her this behaviour.
Although no one has questioned her educational qualification, her dependency on her husband for every move she makes has already raised speculations on whether the mobile jammers at the council hall would be turned off soon to allow her to take orders from her husband, Ramanjaneya.
Ramanjaneya has been calling the shots, attending meetings with legislators and ministers to finalise names for the posts of Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.
Sharadamma does not speak on the phone as calls made on the official number provided was, more often than not, attended by her husband.
Although party members said she should be given time to "get into the groove", she has already served as a taluk panchayat member and is also a BBMP corporator for more than an year.
The chain of command, however, does not end with her husband as he is reported to be taking orders from Dasarahalli MLA Muniraju who, in turn, gets them from Home Minister R Ashok.
While the erstwhile mayor, S K Nataraj, was often accused of being a "puppet" in the hands of "powerful ministers" by the Opposition, Sharadamma may actually help improve his image by redefining the phrase "puppet".
Questions are already being raised over her ability to handle the turbulent council meetings. Though much hope has been pinned on Deputy Mayor Harish to provide back up, his powers are "redundant" in the presence of the Mayor in the council.