Mysore/Mysuru: K.R. Nagar JD(S) MLA S.R. Mahesh said that the JD(S) was willing to accept NR Congress MLA Tanveer Sait into the party fold, if the Congress party takes disciplinary action against him in connection with  Mysuru Mayoral polls.

Addressing a press meet at his Office near Rama Vilas Road here yesterday, Mahesh said that Congress Corporators supported the JD(S) candidate at the last minute in order to keep out the BJP from power in the civic body. Observing that it was not correct to target Tanveer Sait for having supported the JD(S), he said that Sait had done no wrong as the KPCC Chief himself had told Sait to continue the alliance with JD(S) in the MCC.

Maintaining that the JD(S) was willing to leave the Mayor post to the Congress as per an understanding reached between the two parties post the 2018 MCC polls, Mahesh said that Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah’s insulting remarks targeting the JD(S) forced the party to contest the Mayoral polls independently.

Declaring that independent Corporators K.V. Sridhar and Samiullah have associated with the JD(S), he said that the two Corporators were previously associated with the party and the JD(S) had convinced another Corporator M.V. Ramprasad, who retained his independent identity till the day of the Mayoral polls, to support the party.

Asserting that the JD(S) was hopeful of bagging the Mayor post with its own strength, Mahesh said that soon as the party learnt that Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda and MLC Sandesh Nagaraj were going to abstain from polling, the JD(S) High Command had asked local leaders to take decision and accordingly, local party leaders decided to go along with the Congress.

Claiming that the JD(S) decision to go with the Congress was taken only at the local level and not by State leaders, Mahesh said that  KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar too had spoken to him seeking the Mayor post for the Congress. Even KPCC Observer R.  Dhruvanarayan too had demanded the same. As the JD(S) had enough strength on its own, the party decided to contest independently. But soon as the party learnt that two of its Legislators were going to abstain from voting, the local leaders of JD(S) and Congress came together to keep the BJP out of power. Lashing out at Siddharamaiah for making cheap comments on JD(S), he said that the Mayoral poll results has shown that the JD(S) is very much a force to reckon with in the State.

Mahesh further said that as the per the understanding reached between the two parties, the JD(S) will get the Mayor post for three terms and the Congress, two terms.

Now that the JD(S) has got the Mayor post for the second time, the party is ready to leave the post to the Congress next time. However, this was dependent on the way the Congress leaders treat the JD(S) in the coming days, he noted.

Mayor Rukmini Madegowda,  JD(S) District President Narasimhaswamy, City President K.T. Cheluvegowda,former Mayor Tasneem, ZP members Madegowda and Beerihundi Basavanna, Corporators K.V. Sridhar, Shobha Mohan and Prema Shankaregowda, leaders Abdulla, Umashankar, M.N. Ramu, Prakash Priyadarshan and others were present.