Fight for BBMP Still On, Now Congress Keeps its Herd Safe

Fight for BBMP still on, corporators have been asked not to pick calls from strangers or the BJP.

​It has been more than three weeks since the BBMP election results were declared but there is still no clarity on the political alliances. With the mayoral elections not very far away, parties are trying protect their flock lest they go astray.

The New Indian Express reports that the Congress has herded its legislators to a resort in Madikeri in Kodagu district to protect them from being “approached” by the BJP ahead of the mayoral elections.

The fourteen JD(S) and seven independent corporators who have joined hands with the Congress to grab power at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are already in different resorts in Kerala, said the newspaper report.

According to the report, all the corporators and H D Kumaraswamy would return to the city on the day that the mayoral election is scheduled to be held.

The New Indian Express report also quoted KPCC president G Parameshwara.

We are taking the corporators to a resort as we fear that the BJP can do anything for power, including poaching our corporators.
— G Parameshwara, KPCC President

Before they left for Madikeri in three buses, all corporators were given a list of dos and don’ts for the next four days by Parameshwara and other leaders.

The corporators were reportedly warned by the KPCC President to not take calls from strangers or BJP leaders.

We will give unconditional support for full five years. The only thing we expect in return is the best use of our support for the development of the IT city.
— H D Kumaraswamy to The New Indian Express

​However, the leaders of the Congress have not had a one-on-one meeting with Kumaraswamy.

The newspaper reported that the BJP was still trying to prevent non-BBMP members from voting in the mayoral election. They want the State Election Commission to delete names of the Congress MLCs who were registered voters in their constituencies.