Congress to pick mayor candidate today

Bengaluru: With the BJP working hard to win the upcoming Assembly elections, the party has given strict instructions to its city cadre to put the pressure on the ruling dispensation by continuously raising issues at the BBMP Council meetings and exposing the failures of the Congress led Palike.

The Congress, which recently kicked off its 'Mane Manege Congress' campaign to retain its seats, has been deliberating carefully on choosing its next Mayoral candidate who can counter the BJP's strategy and revive the party's image in the city which has taken a severe beating after heavy rains since August 15 exposed the city’s fragile infrastructure.

Commenting on the selection of Mayoral candidate, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundurao, who met all Congress corporators on Tuesday, said, “Elections are around the corner and there should be no differences within our party. With that intention, I had invited all Congress corporators and took their feedback.”

“All the corporators unanimously agreed that they would accept the leader the party chooses. On Wednesday, we will choose the right candidate after holding talks with legislators and Lok Sabha members,” he said.

Those in the fray from the party for the top post, which has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate this time, are Devarajeevanahalli ward corporator Sampath Raj, Subhash Nagar ward corporator L. Govindaraju, Lakshmidevi Nagar ward corporator Velu Naikar and Begur ward corporator Anjinappa. Ministers, MLAs and MPs have been pitching for candidates of their choice. Elections are scheduled for Sept. 28.

If sources in the Congress are to be believed, of the four contenders, Mr Sampath Raj is the frontrunner.  “To convince Bengaluru Rural MP D.K. Suresh, who has asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to choose his candidate, either Mr Velu Naikar or Mr Anjinappa from his Bengaluru Rural constituency, the party will offer them posts of BBMP standing committee chairmen. Mr Sampath Raj stands a better chance than Mr Govindraju, as Mr Sampath Raj is known in the BBMP council for his oratory skills and is known to raise issues in the Council. Also, D.J. Halli ward has improved significantly under his care.”

A final decision on the candidate for the Mayors’ post will be out by Wednesday afternoon.