Padmavathi of Cong elected Bengaluru's 50th mayor thanks to JD(S)

Bengaluru, Sep 29: G Padmavathi of the Congress was on Wednesday elected the city's 50th mayor. A four-time councillor from Prakashnagar ward (No. 98), Padmavathi polled 142 votes in a council of 262 members, to emerge the clear winner in the elections. M Anand of the JD(S), which has allied with the Congress for the elections, also polled the same number of votes to clinch the deputy mayor's post.

With the support of the JD(S), Padmavathi was able to ward off the challenge from the BJP candidate DH Lakshmi to bag the coveted post. On Tuesday, Shanthinagar councillor Soumya Shivakumar's name was being floated as Congress's possible choice for the post. However, Padmavathi, who was reportedly backed by energy minister DK Shivakumar, clinched the Congress nomination.

The BJP members of the council walked out after the polls to the mayor's post, thereby reducing M Anand's election as the deputy mayor to a mere formality. Anand is a corporator from Radhakrishna Temple ward in north Bengaluru.

The 262-member strong Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council comrpises MLAs, MPs elected from Bengaluru, besides 198 corporators. This year, the mayor's post was reserved for a woman from category B of the backward classes, while the deputy mayor's post was reserved for a member from the general category.

On her plans for the city, Padmavathi said, "With all eyes on the 2018 assembly elections, I will try and fulfil chief minister Siddaramaiah's vision for Bengaluru's improvement. We will take up works on a priority basis, which will definitely help our party at a crucial time." However, she hastened to add that the approaching elections to the state assembly was not the only motivation for her to take up developmental works in the city. "I will seek suggestions from the media and citizens for guidance during my tenure," she said.

Demolition drive

The demolition undertaken by the BBMP to rid storm water drains (SWDs) and lake beds of encroachments has been dubbed an ambitious task, while also being severely criticised.When asked if the drive would continue under her tenure, Padmavathi said, "This is not something the BBMP has control over.These properties built on SWDs are illegal. The CM has chalked out a programme to rehabilitate the poor people, who lost their houses because of the drive. We will follow his directions."

She added that a new tax collection regimen would be brought into force to net the big fishes evading tax payment, which would also help mobilise finances for the BBMP. She also said that she wanted to launch health schemes, the details of which she did not elaborate on.

Although elections to the posts of the 12 standing committees were also slated to be held on Wednesday, they had to be postponed owing to the commotion that prevailed during the mayoral elections. BBMP officials told TOI that the elections to these key posts would be held on October 19 or 20.

The standing committees are - tax and finance, town planning and improvement, public health, major public works, ward level works, education, appeal, accounts, social justice and welfare, horticulture, market and establishment, administrative reforms.