DHARWAD
The elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation will be held on June 20 at the HDMC meeting hall in Dharwad, said Regional Commissioner (Belagavi Division) P Sunilkumar.
The filing of nomination will be between 9 am and 11am. The general body meeting of the HDMC will commence at 1 pm and voting if necessary will take place. The post of Mayor has been reserved for General Woman while the Deputy Mayor’s post is for General category.
The election this time has evoked curiosity as the Congress will try out all means to snatch power from BJP in the 82-member house. The BJP has 39 seats followed by Congress 33, AIMIM 3, JD(S) 1 and Independents 6.
During the last mayoral poll, five independents and the lone JD(S) member had supported BJP candidates. The MP, MLAs and MLCs from the HDMC area have a right to vote in the election. BJP has one MP, two MLAs and three MLCs while the Congress has two MLAs including Vinay Kulkarni who is banned from entering the district by court.
Congress, buoyed by the success in the assembly elections, will spare no effort to snatch power from BJP this time. It may try to win the support of the Independents and AIMIM members.
Political observers however opine that it will not be easy for Congress to win over the independents as three of them Kishan Belagavi, Chandrika Mestri and Durgamma Bijawad have already officially joined BJP. They will face disqualification if they cross vote, said an observer.
