Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 20: Political circles believe that BJP is planning to gift the post of the city mayor here to a candidate for Vokkaliga community this time. The party hopes to achieve three goals in a single shot, of appeasing the community which has of late a little perturbed by the problems surrounding their leader D K Shivakumar of the Congress, achieving social justice, and making Gowda community leaders happy.

This is the last term of the five-year tenure of the mayor of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and BJP has got a chance of have its say after four years during which period, Congress-JD(S) alliance shared between them the post of the mayor. Moreover, Vokkaliga community candidate was made the BBMP mayor long back, 18 years to be precise.

The mayoral election is set to take place on the 27th of this month. Because of the differences between the JD(S) and the Congress, and also as BJP has wrested power in the state, the situation is conduce for the BJP to thrust its candidate as the mayor of the city. Supporters of the disqualified legislators and independents will now vote for the BJP in the election. However, a final decision about the community to which this post is to be given has not yet been taken.

Rumours say that the BJP wants to make L Srinivas, city corporator from Kumaraswamy Layout ward, as the 51st mayor of the BBMP. There are a number of aspirants for the post like Padmanabha Reddy and Gurumurthy Reddy but the party is said to be under the compulsion to satisfy Gowda community. Murthy, who was elected thrice from the said ward, fits the bill well. The last time this community got mayoral post was in 2002-03 when C M Nagaraj was the mayor.

BJP, which generally enjoys support of Lingayat community, wants to muster the support of Vokkaliga community now. To assuage the general feeling that H D Kumaraswamy of the Vokkaliga community was toppled from the post of the chief minister by it, the party gave the post of the deputy chief minister to Ashwath Narayana. By giving the post of mayor also to this community, it is said, the party wants to address the community's grouse at not making R Ashok the deputy chief minister, and project itself as a party that is friendly towards this community, it is said.