BENGALURU: At least six former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) corporators, who are eyeing tickets in the upcoming Assembly polls, have been doing everything from putting up banners, holding cultural programmes to arranging buses for devotees, and attacking sitting MLAs to bag the B form.
Former mayor Gautham Kumar Jain, who represented Jogupalya ward from 2010 to 2015, has almost cemented his ticket from BJP and has a clear edge over Shanthi Nagar mandal president Shiva Kumar.
“Despite being only a second-term corporator, he is ahead of many senior corporators to become the city’s mayor. He contacted an influential minister in the central government to lobby for a ticket. His position as a mayor earlier has bolstered his case as the next candidate for Shanthi Nagar,” said a senior BJP leader.
Speaking to TNIE, Gautham Kumar Jain said that he has been working in this Assembly segment over the last two decades and will address the issues of the residents of Shanthi Nagar.
Like Gautham, CM Ramamurthy, a two-time corporator from Pattabhirama Nagar ward in the Jayanagar Assembly constituency, has been working in the Assembly for over three years. He believes that his caste will be an advantage in a constituency where 45,000 people are members of the same community. “I have been going to people’s doorsteps, and holding cultural and festival programmes. Besides, 10 per cent of the Muslims will vote for me, and I am also popular among the Vokkaliga and Christian communities,” he said.
Former mayor SK Nataraj from Sarakki ward and NR Ramesh from Yediyur are also aspiring for tickets from the Jayanagar Assembly seat. Similarly, G Padmavathi, another former mayor, is also lobbying for the Rajajinagar seat and is backing KPCC president DK Shivakumar to secure his ticket. “I contested and lost in 2018. I have been working over the last four years. Recently, I have arranged over 15 buses for pilgrimages, arranged loans for those who wanted to buy autorickshaws and undertook other welfare programmes.”
N Shivaraju from Shankar Mutt ward is lobbying for the Mahalakshmi Layout, the seat from where he lost during the bypoll in December 2019 against K Gopalaiah who defected from JDS to BJP.