Mounesh Vishwakarma

Bantwal, Aug 23: As expected, the Congress-SDPI alliance continues in the Bantwal twown municipal council with Congress candidate Vasu Poojary Loretto elected as the new president and SDPI’s Muneesh Ali Kelinapete as the vice president.

The election for the president and vice president of Bantwal municipality took place on Thursday under the supervision of Bantwal Tahsildar D Archana Bhat, who served as the election officer. Chief officer Leena Britto and staff assisted in the process. The president's post was reserved for the general category, while the vice president's post was reserved for the backward class (A) category.

Out of the total 27 members in the Bantwal municipality, the strength reduced to 26 after Gangadhar, elected from Congress, resigned. Both Congress and BJP had 11 seats each, while SDPI, with its 4 members, held the decisive position.

With MPs Capt Brijesh Chowta and MLA Rajesh Naik also eligible to vote, the BJP increased its count to 13. However, the Congress-SDPI alliance secured 15 votes, continuing their alliance for a second term and assuming control.

Nomination process

During the nomination process, Vasu Poojary from Congress filed his nomination for the president's post, while Idris from SDPI filed a dummy nomination. Senior BJP member A Govinda Prabhu also contested for the president’s position. Interestingly, Congress did not field a candidate for the vice president’s post, choosing instead to watch the situation unfold. Muneesh Ali from SDPI and BJP’s Hariprasad filed their nominations for the vice president’s post. As expected, Idris withdrew from the contest for the president's post.

With Congress’s Vasu Poojary as the presidential candidate, SDPI’s Muneesh Ali for vice president, and BJP’s candidates, the stage was set for the election. In the end, Vasu Poojary was elected as the president and Muneesh Ali as the vice president with a simple majority. Although the Congress-SDPI alliance was maintained in the first term, SDPI was not given any posts, resulting in Congress members Mohammad Sharif and Jacintha being elected as president and vice president, respectively.

In the second term, SDPI had its sights set on the president's post. When Congress leaders didn’t agree, SDPI filed nominations for both president and vice president. By not fielding a candidate for vice president, Congress tactically allowed SDPI to withdraw from the president's race, thus securing the positions for both parties.

Focus on development – Vasu Poojary

Speaking to the media, newly elected president Vasu Poojary emphasized his focus on development. He stated that under the guidance of former minister B Ramanath Rai, and with the cooperation of all members, he would work towards providing basic infrastructure and ensuring corruption-free and transparent governance. Congress municipality members, including Pius Rodrigues, Chandraprakash Shetty, Baby Kundar, Sudeep Kumar Shetty, Padmashekar Jain, Mayilappa Saliyan, and Mohammad Nandavar, were present.

Corruption-free administration – Muneesh Ali

Speaking to the media, newly elected vice president Muneesh Ali assured that he would work without allowing any corruption and would strive to meet the public's expectations for a corruption-free administration in the municipality.