JD(S) likely to dump Congress, BJP will capture BBMP posts soon: Ashok

Bengaluru: Having received the go ahead from its core committee, the BJP is making an all out effort to wrest control of the BBMP council from the Congress-JD(S) alliance.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, former deputy CM R. Ashok declared that JDS was likely to switch sides and the party would regain control of the BBMP with its help soon.

“JD(S) leaders are in touch with us and we will very soon finalise an alliance with it," he said. Asked about state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa’s opposition to a tie-up with JD(S), he said he had okayed it at the recent core committee meeting. “He has left it to the city leaders and Union ministers to take a call on this,” he said.

Recalling that the party lost the 2015 Mayoral elections by a mere three votes, gaining 128 votes as against the 131 of the Congress- JD(S) alliance, he contended that this time the BJP stood a good chance of getting 11 votes from JD(S) corporators MLCs and RS members to make up the numbers and win.

Denying that the party intended to depend on five independent corporators as well, he said it did not want to share the posts of chairman and deputy chairman of various standing committees with them.

The JD(S) is, however, still playing its cards close to the chest and has not revealed which way it will swing these elections. Mayor Manjunath Reddy of the Congress was elected in 2015 with the support of 76 of his party corporators, 14 JD(S) corporators, 16 MLAs, 11 MLCs two MPs , five Rajya Sabha members and five independent corporators.

BJP’s defeated Mayoral candidate, Manjunath Raju got 100 votes from his party corporators, 12 MLAs, 10 MLCs, three MPs, two Rajya Sabha members and one independent. The BJP is this time short of one Rajya Sabha member as Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman is not a permanent resident of Bengaluru and cannot vote in these elections.