
BIDAR: For the second time in four-and-a-half years, the president and vice-president of Bidar Zilla Panchayat were unseated through a no-confidence motion due to caste politics and alleged non-cooperation. In April 2019 too, the president and vice president were ousted through a no-confidence motion.A meeting of the Bidar Zilla Panchayat was called on December 14 to elect a new president and vice president.
The recent no-confidence motion was moved against Geeta Pandit Chidri, president, and Lakshman Rao Bulla, vice president in August. When the process of calling a meeting for voting was in progress, the Kalaburagi Bench of High Court which was hearing a writ petition directed Kalaburagi Regional Commissioner N V Prasad who is also the Returning Officer for the elections, to conduct voting and not announce results till it disposed the case.
Accordingly, Prasad conducted voting on October 23 and the details were kept in a sealed cover. The court disposed of the case on November 30 and asked Prasad to announce the result of the no-confidence motion. He announced it on December 2.Geeta Chidri alleged that members were unhappy as a person from the SC community was made V-P though the post was reserved for the General category. She said she has moved the court against fresh elections.
Vijaykumar Patil who was an aspirant for the post of vice-president said when the present body was constituted on May 2 in 2016, the president’s post was reserved for ST (woman) category and vice-president’s post for General category. Accordingly, Bharatibai Kodambal became president and Prakash Patil became vice-president.
As per Congress’ power-sharing formula, the president and VP are changed after 30 months.“Though I was a contender for the VP post, I did not contest then as party leaders assured me that both the president and VP would step down after two-and-a-half years,” he said.“But both did not step down even after 30 months. They were unseated through no-confidence motion. And then Geeta Chidri was made president in 2018 and Lakshman Rao Bulla of SC community was made vice-president ignoring me,” Vijaykumar Patil said.
There are only three women from the ST category in Bidar ZP. Now, it is the turn of Nirmala Vaijanath Malegopale of BJP t become president. It is said that as Vijaykumar Patil was the brains behind the no-confidence motion, he may become V-P.