Cong, BJP and JD(S) gear up for MCC polls

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Political activities in Congress, BJP, and JD(s) have picked up after Minister for Urban Development Bhyrathi Suresh recently announced the government will set in motion the process to conduct the polls for the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) after the end of five years of tenure.

The tenure of the present house ends on November 16, while the reservation of wards is expected to be announced by month-end.

While Congress is looking to regain control over the civic body, JD(S), which once was a dominant force in the MCC, is confused as there is no clarity on the tie-up with the BJP given that senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa has ruled over the alliance for the legislative council polls.

The BJP, which has emerged as the single largest party, is working out strategies to win a majority on its own.

Though there are doubts whether the state government conducts the polls after revising the ward-wise reservation under roaster system or it conducts by continuing the existing ward-wise reservation, but chances for sitting corporators are more to contest again in the polls from the same wards in case if the state government sticks to conducts the polls without altering the existing ward-wise reservation.

As no party won a majority due to split mandate in the previous 2018 MCC elections, the city civic body has seen a lot of political developments, ups and downs, and witnessed change in political equations in the last five years.

Though BJP became a single largest party by securing 22 seats in the 2018 MCC polls, the party was not able to come to power for the first year as both Congress and JD(S) made alliance to keep the BJP out of power.

Political parties leaders who were in a dilemma over council polls now geared up preparing the stage for council polls after the statement of urban development minister.

State ruling Congress which is riding on the popularity by successfully implementing the poll guarantee schemes is now working out the strategies to capture the seat of power for all the five years by winning a majority of seats out of total strength of 65 wards of Mysuru City Corporation.