The Hindu 15.03.2011
Mayoral polls on Friday
Elections were delayed because of Kannada meet
Eyeing the top post: For the post of Mayor, the race is between outgoing
Deputy Mayor Bharati Patil (left) and councillor Poorna Patil
The mayoral elections will be held on Friday.
The post of Mayor is reserved for a woman from General
category while that of Deputy Mayor is reserved for Other Backward
Classes (OBC)–A category.
The elections, which were to be held on March 5 as the
tenure of outgoing Mayor Venkatesh Mestri expired on March 4, got
delayed reportedly because of the Vishwa Kannada Sammelan in Belgaum.
It is learnt that leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party
utilised the extra time to finalise candidates, after there was some
initial confusion in the party.
As per convention, the Mayor’s post will go to a Dharwad
candidate, as the previous Mayor was from Hubli. Although BJP enjoys a
clear majority in the House, picking candidates for the posts has not
been easy. Aspirants, in their own way, have started mounting pressure
on the leaders.
For the post of Mayor, the race is between outgoing
Deputy Mayor Bharati Patil and councillor Poorna Patil. While Ms.
Bharati has experience in handling various posts, including that of
Floor Leader, Ms. Poorna, a second-time councillor, is yet to handle a
prime post.
Clout
Going by caste considerations — still a deciding factor in Indian politics — both have considerable clout within the party.
While Ms. Bharati is a Lingayat, the dominant community,
Ms. Poona belongs to the Brahmin community, a force to reckon with in
the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.
Moreover, Brahmins are a strong vote bank in the Hubli-Dharwad West Assembly Constituency.
