The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Two corporators make it to the Assembly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 14, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Two corporators make it to the Assembly

By Afshan Yasmeen

K. Chandrashekar and N.L. Narendra Babu, corporators in Bangalore, jubilant after winning the Assembly elections on Thursday. — Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

BANGALORE, MAY 13 . The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has been a steppingstone to State and national politics for many corporators. In fact, many of them have become Ministers, MLAs and Rajya Sabha members.

This time too, two corporators and as many former corporators have made it to the Vidhana Soudha.

The former Mayor and Hanumanthnagar corporator, K. Chandrashekar, and the Nagpur corporator, N.L. Narendra Babu, have won from Basavangudi and Rajajinagar, respectively, as the Congress nominees. Mr. Babu contested the 1999 Assembly elections and lost by a narrow margin.

These two constituencies were BJP strongholds for years. While Mr. Chandrashekar has defeated the BJP candidate, K.N. Subba Reddy (who represented the area last time), Mr. Babu has defeated S. Suresh Kumar, a former BJP corporator and area MLA for two terms.

The former corporators, Ramalinga Reddy and V. Somanna, have made it to the Assembly for the third consecutive time on the Congress ticket. The Congress workers say their success has been possible because of their personal ability.

"The charisma of the Congress is not the only deciding factor in the case of Mr. Reddy and Mr. Somanna. They have nursed their constituencies better than others," a senior party worker said.

The same is the case with the BJP candidate, Katta Subramanya Naidu. He represented Shivajinagar in the Vidhana Soudha in the previous Assembly. The election of Mr. Chandrashekar and Mr. Babu is likely to have an impact on the BMP Council. Earlier, it was only Mr. Reddy who had clout in the BMP. Mr. Somanna, who was in the erstwhile Janata Dal, enjoyed such clout before he shifted loyalties to the Congress.

The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, had nominated Mr. Reddy to be in charge of the city and the happenings in the BMP Council even before he was officially appointed as the City Development Minister.

"The entry of Mr. Chandrashekar and Mr. Babu into the Vidhana Soudha will definitely help the BMP in getting projects cleared expeditiously," sources in the BMP Council said.

The former Mayors, J. Huchappa and K. Narayanswamy, who contested from Rajajinagar and Basavangudi, respectively, on the Janata Dal (S) ticket, were unfortunate.

What does the BMP expect from the new Government? The BMP expects that the new Government will give priority to the uplift of the urban poor and make Bangalore a "slum-free" city. While the Opposition Janata Dal (S) and the BJP hopes that the new Government will revoke the proposed scheme of property tax based on the capital value of buildings, the ruling Congress wants an extension of the Mayor's term.

"I hope that the new regime will extend the Mayor's term from one year to five years. I am not asking for an extension of my term but for a change in the system as per the Constitution," the Mayor, P.R. Ramesh, said.

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