BENGALURU: Even as the BJP is contemplating a tie-up with JD(S) ahead of the BBMP mayoral election, the ruling Congress is using every trick in the book to defeat the former in the numbers game.
The Congress is trying to bolster its own strength by enrolling some of its recently elected Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members as voters of Bengaluru. Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy’s term is set to end on September 18 and the election of the new mayor is scheduled to be held on September 19. Apart from the 198 BBMP corporators, the MLAs, MLCs and MPs of Bengaluru also form the electoral college.
While JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy is not keen on continuing the alliance with the Congress in the BBMP, the BJP leadership is yet to take a final call on striking a pact with JD(S). “We will discuss the proposal for a tie-up with JD(S) at the BJP state core committee meeting on August 16 (Tuesday),” BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said on Sunday.
The ruling Congress is said to have asked its elected Rajya Sabha members and MLCs to change their address to Bengaluru and get enrolled as voters of the city. MLCs Veena Achaiah, Rizwan Arshad, R B Thimmapur, Allam Veerabhadrappa, Rajya Sabha members K C Ramamurthy and Oscar Fernandes have been requested to change addresses, sources said.
Congress is also trying to exploit the rift within JD(S) to its advantage. Of the 14 JD(S) corporators, eight are from wards in the constituencies represented by suspended JD(S) MLAs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Akhanda Srinivasmurthy and K Gopalaiah, who are inclined to continue with the Congress.