Tenure of Mayor Sunanda Palanetra and Dy. Mayor Anwar Baig ends tomorrow

Mysore/Mysuru: With just a day left for the completion of the tenure of the incumbent City Mayor Sunanda Palanetra of the BJP, the Mayoral polls to elect the new Mayor and the Deputy Mayor may get delayed as the Government is yet to announce the reservation matrix for the Mayoral polls.

The tenure of Sunanda Palanetra and Deputy Mayor Anwar Baig will end tomorrow (Feb. 24) and under normal circumstances, the Government would have announced the reservation Matrix for electing the new Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. But that has not happened, with the Government busy with Budget preparations and hence, in all probability, the Mayoral polls is unlikely to take place this month. The delay would mean that Sunanda and Baig would continue in their post as in-charge until the new incumbents are elected.

Meanwhile, with Mayoral polls not forthcoming soon, all the three major parties — BJP, Congress and JD(S) — seem to be playing a waiting game. Now, all the three parties are keenly awaiting the reservation matrix, which is yet to be announced by the Government. Political activities will gain momentum after the reservation matrix is announced. 

This time, chances are high that the BJP may support the JD(S) in the Mayoral polls, in order to keep out Congress from power. In the last Mayoral polls held on Aug.25, 2021, JD(S) had indirectly helped BJP by fielding its own  candidate, which resulted in the city getting the first BJP Mayor in Sunanda Palanetra.

Rukmini Madegowda of the JD(S) was elected as the Mayor and Anwar Baig of the Congress as the Deputy Mayor, when the two parties had an alliance for the Mayoral polls held in Feb.2021. But the High Court in May 2021 disqualified Rukmini Madegowda as a Corporator on charges that she had submitted false affidavit on the assets she owned when she had filed her nomination for the MCC polls held in 2018.

Following her disqualification, the Mayor post became vacant and Deputy Mayor Anwar Baig functioned as the in-charge Mayor until Sunanda Palanetra was elected on Aug. 25, 2021.