BBMP verdict: As unholy as it can get

Bengaluru, Aug 30: When the results of the BBMP elections were announced on Tuesday, Aug 25, the BJP was jubilant as it emerged as the single largest party.

However, the BJP did not expect that the run up to forming the council at the BBMP would take such a turn of events and the JD(S) with just 14 corporators would don the role of a kingmaker.

With all the JD(S) corporators being whisked away to a resort now in Kerala, both the Congress and the BJP are desperately making efforts to get to that magic number of 128 to form the council at the BBMP.

The BJP needs two corporators while the Congress needs 7 to reach the magic number of 128 in order to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

While the Congress has to forge an alliance with the JD(S) if it has to reach the magic number, the BJP will look to take into its fold the independents (8).

Last night saw some hectic activity with both the Congress and the BJP trying to reach out to the JD(S) as the independents have remained largely non-committal.

What the BJP needs?

The BJP has won the BBMP elections with a simple majority of 101 seats which includes one independent corporator in a council of 198.

To form the council at the BBMP the BJP would require a number of 128. Even if the BJP puts together its non-councillor voters such as MPs, MLAs and MLCs, its tally goes up to 126 which would mean it is falling short by 2.

With the fate of the independents unclear and the Congress gunning for the JD(S), the BJP is doing everything to ensure that it can muster up the numbers to form the council.

Yesterday, there were a series of meetings that were held, the most important one being between BJP leader Sadananda Gowda and JD(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda.

Sadananda Gowda during the meeting with Deve Gowda made several references of how the BJP and the JD(S) on the floor of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly had coordinated well to counter the ruling Congress.

He said that it is only natural that the JD(S) and BJP come together in the BBMP as well.

Deve Gowda non-committal:

The JD(S) supremo however did not commit anything and told the media that he is 83 years old and would rather turn towards God than indulging in politics. We will wait and watch how we can position ourselves, he however added.

The JD(S) is however expected to reply by September 2 before the council has its first sitting. With Deve Gowda remaining non-committal and H D Kumaraswamy away on vacation at Chickmagalur, the entire show is being run by JD(S) MLA, Zameer Ahmed.

Yesterday, he displayed a very familiar sight when he drove the JD(S) corporators away to the airport. The corporators were taken away to Kerala where they will remain until September 2.

Zameer Ahmed says that this is being done to prevent any kind of horse trading by the BJP. The fact that Kerala is ruled by the Congress makes it a safer bet to park the corporators at a resort out there.

He also says that he is very sure that Deve Gowda will not support the BJP at any cost while also adding that the JD(S) corporators are in favouring of a truck with the Congress.

The Congress is a divided house:

From what one gets to hear from sources close to the Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah he is in favour of an alliance with the JD(S). He is of the view that that the party which is in power in the state should be the one which rules the BBMP as well.

Siddaramaiah may however be the minority voice in this issue as several senior Congress leaders have disapproved of this move.

"It just not does go well as the mandate was not given to us," a senior Congress leader informed OneIndia.

While senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is said to have made a call to Deve Gowda, there were many others in the party who have completely disapproved of this.

Mallikarjuna Kharge and B K Hariprasad, senior Congress leaders according to sources have put their foot down. G Parameshwar who had earlier said that the mandate was not in favour of his party now says that there is no proposal from the JD(S) to form the council at the BBMP.

However, the one making the strongest push in the Congress is former JD(S) leader and current Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah.

Many would say that he feels threatened about his own position in the Congress with this massive loss at the BBMP elections and hence is doing everything to ensure that the party forms the council at the BBMP.

OneIndia News