Bidar: Elections to the post of president and vice-president of the Bidar Zilla Panchayat will be held on Monday. None of the major parties, the Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have a clear majority. They are exploring the possibilities of various permutations and combinations to form coalitions and rule the body. The 31-member house has 12 Congress members, eight each from the BJP and the Janata Dal (S), one each from the BSP and the AIPJD and one independent. The mid-term election to the posts of president and vice-president is the effect of the Janata Dal (S)-BJP combine losing power in a no-confidence motion moved by the Congress.

Senior leaders of all parties have been deputed as observers. Sources said Endowment Minister Nagaraj Shetty and MLC Shashil Namoshi of the BJP, Agriculture Minister Bandeppa Kashempur and former Minister Mirajuddin Patel of the Janata Dal (S), and former Minister T.John and MLC Veeranna Mattikatti of the Congress, held discussions with the zilla panchayat members at the government guest house on Sunday.

After the Janata Dal (S)-BJP combine came to power at the State-level, the two parties formed a coalition in the Bidar ZP. They agreed to share power for ten months each following the "Jammu-Kashmir" model. Anil Bhusare of the Janata Dal (S) and Jyoti Charan Rathod of the BJP assumed the posts of the president and the vice-president. However, the Congress moved a no-confidence motion after seven months of this arrangement. It managed to elicit the support of three BJP members for the motion. However, on Sunday, each party seemed confident of winning the polls. Party leaders said the disgruntled members had returned to the party fold and would re-elect the same old combination. Janata Dal (S) leaders said its flock was intact.

However, party sources indicated it was planning to seek the support of some Congress members if the BJP failed to support them. Congress leaders said the party would not support anyone other than its members. However, sources said the party members were divided between supporting D.K. Sidram and Amrit Chimkod for the president's post.

The president's post is unreserved. The vice-president's post is reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman. Since the Congress does not have a candidate for the vice-president's post, it will be forced to support a member from another party.

Nominations will be received in the zilla panchayat office till 1 p.m.

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