The Hindu 23.04.2010
Swamy is Mysore Mayor, Pushpalatha his deputy
Staff Correspondent
He won by a margin of seven votes against Nagendra of the BJP |
— Photo: M.A. SRIRAM
All smiles:Sandesh Swamy and Pushpalatha Jagannath after their election as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mysore on Thursday.
MYSORE:The controversy over the mayoral election ended here on Thursday when Sandesh Swamy alias S. Satish of Janata Dal (Secular) and Pushpalatha Jagannath, an independent backed by the Congress, were elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.
The mayoral election on Thursday was continuation of the process that commenced on February 26. The election on February 26 was, however, put off following high drama during the polling process.
Mr. Sandesh Swamy won by a margin of seven votes against Nagendra of the BJP. Mr. Sandesh Swamy polled 37 votes, while Mr. Nagendra secured 30. Rukmini of the Janata Dal (S), M. Mahadevamma of the Congress and Sundanda Palanetra of the BJP, who had filed their nomination papers for the post on February 26, were absent.
As predicted, the Congress and the JD(S) had an alliance to defeat the BJP, which was desperate to capture power in the 65-member Mysore City Corporation Council (MCC).
Amidst thumping of desks by the Congress and JD(S) members, Mayor Purushottam, who chaired the special meeting, declared Mr. Sandesh Swamy and Ms. Pushpalatha as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.
P. Devaraj of the Congress, who had filed papers for the mayor’s post, withdrew from the fray.
Of the 77 votes, including those of MLAs, MLCs and the MP, in the MCC, 12 members, including Mysore MP A.H. Vishwanath, were absent. Among the 65 members present, only 42 took part in the election.
The BJP members staged a walk-out, accusing the Mayor of conducting the election in an “undemocratic” manner.
The Mayor (who is from the Congress) completed the election proceedings in one hour giving no opportunity to councillors, including the Congress, for discussion.
When the election commenced at 11 a.m., the Mayor invited the four JD(S) councillors, who had raised their hands but not attested their signatures in favour of Mr. Nagendra during the election process on February 26, to attest their signatures. As councillors K.T. Cheluve Gowda, Rukmini, Shivanna and C. Madesha were absent, the Mayor announced that Mr. Nagendra had secured 30 votes in his favour.
This announcement led to protests from BJP councillors led by Mr. Nagendra, who claimed that he had polled 37 votes, and demanded that the video footage of voting on February 26 be displayed.
But the Mayor refused to consider his demand arguing that the footage by MCC cameraman had been watched by leaders of the three parties.
The BJP members, including MLA S.A. Ramdas, MLCs Siddaraju, Mallikarjunappa and Tontadarya, rushed to the well of the House and argued with the Mayor.
Paying no heed to their demand, the Mayor began the voting process.
This enraged the BJP members who staged a walk-out raising slogans against Mr. Purushottam.
The election process ended smoothly, paving the way for the election of Mr. Sandesh Swamy and Ms. Pushpalatha.
Ms. Pushpalatha was declared elected as none of the members present neither voted in favour or against the three other contenders for the Deputy Mayor’s post.
The BJP claimed 37 members had raised their hands, while only 30 had attested their signatures in the candidate’s favour. Seven councillors, who raised their hands, refrained from attesting their signatures.
Addressing presspersons, Mr. Purushottam said: “I had directions from the Ministry of Urban Development to allow JD(S) councillors Mr. Cheluve Gowda, Mr. Shivanna, Ms. Rukmini and Mr. Madesha to vote for the Deputy Mayor’s post only if they attest their signatures in Mr. Nagendra’s favour as they raised their hands in his favour during the election process on February 26.”