After much delay, elections to top two posts in Yadgir CMC likely to be held soon

The last hurdle to polling cleared with Chalavadi Narayanaswamy’s application for getting his name included in voter list being approved

As an application filed by the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy seeking the transfer of his name from Kolar Assembly Constituency to Yadgir Assembly Constituency has been allowed by Voters Registration Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Yadgir Sub-Division Hampanna Sajjan, the last hurdle to conducting elections to the post of president and vice-president of the Yadgir City Municipal Council (CMC) has been finally cleared.

Mr. Narayanaswamy has selected Yadgir district as his nodal district from Kolar and wanted his name to be included in the voters list in Yadgir.

State secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Youth Wing Avinash Jagannath had filed his objection to Mr. Narayanaswamy’s application. After hearing both the sides, Dr. Sajjan, on September 20, passed an order allowing Mr. Narayanaswamy to get his name included in the voter list of the Yadgir Assembly Constituency.

Mr. Narayanaswamy is now eligible to cast his vote in the elections to the post of president and vice-president of the municipal council.

Following this, it now seems that the much-awaited elections to these top two posts will come soon.

The authorities concerned are likely to hold the elections within a couple of days. “We are planning to conduct elections. They were delayed not only because of Mr. Narayanaswamy’s application but also other administrative reasons, including scheduled activities and programmes like the formation of human chain in the district,” Dr. Sajjan said.

He added that it is likely to be held by September-end. “If this happens as expected, we will issue notice to all respected members a week before the event.”

House strength

The Yadgir CMC has 31 seats, of which the BJP has won 16 followed by the Congress with 12, the Janata Dal(S) two and there is one Independent.

As the BJP and Janata Dal(S) are in coalition, the Janata Dal(S) may support the BJP.

The Congress has poor chances of occupying the top posts, as it needs to have 18 members to prove a majority in the House.

Apart from its 16 members, the BJP has the support of Janata Dal(S) members and also MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.

On the other hand, the Congress has support from Yadgir MLA and Raichur MP in addition to its 12 members. However, it is difficult for the Congress to prove a majority.

Reservation

The post of the municipal president is reserved for general (woman), while that of the vice-president is reserved for the BCA (woman).

The elections to the CMC general body were held long ago. But, due to a delay in fixing reservation and other reasons, the posts of municipal president and vice-president remained vacant so far.

Meanwhile, the elected members expressed helplessness in attending to civic problems.

“Taking undue advantage of the situation, officers started neglecting their duties in improving the city and protecting the interests of the people. Most of the drainages in several localities remain blocked causing waterlogging when it rains,” Umesh Mudnal, a social activist, said.

Aspirants

According to sources, Lalitha Anapur, Mahadevamma Beeranur, Prabhavathi Kalal, Chandrakala Maddi and Jayamma Maddi from the BJP and Janata Dal(S) and Nirmala Bhojaraj Jagannath and Savitha Sharanagowda Patil from the Congress are the key aspirants to the top posts. And, they have already started lobbying.

Another issue

Another major problem that the CMC is facing is that there has been no permanent commissioner since a year now, as Sangappa Upase, who was earlier municipal commissioner, has been released from service. He was the last permanent commissioner.

After Mr. Upase was released, Dr. Sajjan was deputed to the post for sometime and later, Project Director of District Urban Development Cell (DUDC) Laxmikanth was given additional charge as CMC Commissioner.

“There have been no significant changes in the city limits in the last many years as wards have remained uncleaned. Therefore, a permanent commissioner should be posted to the CMC to attend to grievances of the citizens. But the lack of interest on the part of elected representatives, who have equal responsibility in ensuring proper civic facilities, is glaring,” a senior citizen in Basaveshwar Nagar locality said.

Published - September 22, 2024 07:04 pm IST