Race for Bengaluru mayor's post

Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body, the stage is set for the next fight: The election for the mayor and deputy mayor (reserved for a woman), scheduled to take place on Friday. The BJP had won 100 wards out of 198 at the BBMP polls held on August 22. The Congress had bagged 76, Janata Dal Secular (JD-S) 14 and others 8.

The twist in the tale is that the 260-member BBMP Council includes 62 other members from Bengaluru with voting rights. These are members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, legislative assemblies and legislative councils. If the BJP loses the election for mayor, it will be a big loss of prestige. The JD-S has said it would support the Congress in the mayoral elections. Could be a sign of things to come.