Mayor election on June 30; political activities gain pace

Deccan Herald

7 days ago

For the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the twin cities, elections will be held on June 30 at 1:00 pm.The terms of Ramappa (Ramanna) Badiger as mayor and Durgamma Bijwad as deputymayor will end on June 28. Regional Commissioner S B Shettennavar has issued a notification announcing the elections for both posts on June 30.For the coming term of one year, mayor's post is reserved for general woman, and deputy mayor's position is reserved for Backward Class A candidate. Nominations can be submitted from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at the HDMC central office in Hubballi, where the election procedures will be held under the leadership of the regional commissioner.Political activity picked up pace with the announcement of date for the mayoral election. Political circles are abuzz with speculation: Will the BJP leadership give another chance to a corporator from Dharwad, or will it be a first-time corporator from the Hubballi-Dharwad East constituency?Sources within the BJP, which currently holds power in the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), suggest that the final decision will rest with Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. However, the choice of candidate will not be unilateral. Consensus will be sought from all elected BJP corporators.Post reserved for womanThis time, the mayoral post is reserved for a woman in the general category, leading to intense competition. Over a dozen aspirants are reportedly eyeing the coveted position.A senior corporator stated that while more than 10 women corporators from Hubballi are in the fray, two from Dharwad have also emerged as strong contenders.In Dharwad, Jyoti Patil and Anita Chalgeri are seen as front-runners. In contrast, the list of aspirants from Hubballi is significantly longer.'It remains to be seen whether the party will favor a newcomer or stick with its earlier pattern of electing an experienced corporator,' the corporator added.However, another corporator offered a different perspective, pointing out that in the last three terms, mayors have hailed from Hubballi-Dharwad West and Hubballi Central constituencies.This, he argued, increases the likelihood of a candidate from Hubballi-Dharwad East getting the nod this time. 'But since the candidate from the East constituency is a first-timer, it's uncertain whether the party high command will take that risk,' he said.Amid this uncertainty, intense lobbying and political maneuvering are already underway. Party sources revealed that the BJP is expected to finalise its candidate by June 29.