Gadag: Although the BJP has fewer members in the Kalaburagi and Davanagere city corporations, its MLCs and Rajya Sabha members have shifted their residential addresses to the respective cities to capture power in the urban local bodies.
Now, following the same ploy, Congress MLCs Mohan Kondajji, Saleem Ahmed, Prakash Rathod and Rajya Sabha member L Hanumantaiah have applied for ordinary citizen status in Gadag-Betgeri, where the Congress has 15 members. The BJP has 18 seats here but if the Congress legislators are inducted into the voters’ list here, it could be in trouble when it tries to claim the majority.
Kondajji said: “This trend was initiated by the BJP itself at Kalaburagi and Davanagere. Now we are doing the same in Gadag to teach a lesson to the ruling party in state and at the Centre. We are not violating any rule in this procedure.”
Congress representatives have given some local addresses in their application. Apart from 15 members, the Congress is expecting support from two independent members who were Congress rebel candidates. If the names of three MLCs and a Rajya Sabha member are added to the city’s voters’ list, the Congress’s strength will increase to 21 and it may get the president’s post in the Gadag-Betgeri City Municipal Council (GBCMC).
Source in the district administration confirmed that the three MLCs and the MP (Rajya Sabha) have applied to induct their name in voters’ list, on January 14. “As per the norm, the applicants should be residents of the area concerned for at least 6 months. We will dispose applications as per rules of election commission,” the source said.
Interestingly, BJP MLC SV Sankanur, who hails from Gadag, has shifted his residential address to Dharwad where the BJP could get majority. As the BJP is in trouble at the GBCMC, he is allegedly getting back to Gadag to ensure that the BJP is in power in his hometown.
He was unavailable for the comment.
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BJP MLCs Laxman Savadi, Sayabanna Talawar, Bharati Shetty, Lehar Singh, Pratap Singh, Raghunath Malkapure and Muniraju have applied to the Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike for ordinary citizen status to bring the BJP to power at Kalaburagi City Corporation (KCC), where the Congress has emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats out of 55. The BJP has 23 seats in hand and is trying to capture the KCC. However, some Congress leaders have approached the high court questioning the move.
In Davangere, both the BJP and the Congress had brought MLCs from other districts to capture the mayor’s post in the election in February 2020 and 2021.
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