As a precautionary measure to avoid possible “poaching” of its councillors in Ballari City Municipal Corporation Council by the BJP ahead of Mayoral elections, the Congress asked its members to go to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Wednesday.
As per information provided by sources in the Congress, the move was initiated by District Congress Committee president Mohammad Rafeeq and Ballari Rural MLA Nagendra based on the directions of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar.
As many as 21 councillors were elected on Congress ticket, along with five Congress rebel candidates who won the elections as Independent candidates, left Ballari in private vehicles for Goldfinch Retreat in Bengaluru.
The elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Ballari are scheduled for Saturday and the Congress councillors are expected to return to the city a day before to cast their votes in the Mayoral polls. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts are reserved for General Woman and General categories, respectively.
In the 39-ward City Municipal Corporation, the Congress won 21 seats leaving 13 for the BJP and five for Independent candidates. Both the Congress and the BJP have three additional members each, an MLA, an MLC and an MP.
“The Congress has a clear majority on the floor of the House. All the five Independent members are originally from the Congress but they contested as Independent candidates as they were denied party ticket. All of them have now returned to the party fold. But, the BJP is, in a desperate bid to capture the Mayoral posts, trying to disturb the balance of power by poaching Congress councillors. It is offering huge sums of cash, residential plots and luxury vehicles to the councillors. As a precautionary measure and to foil the BJP’s bid, we all are heading towards a resort in Bengaluru,” M. Prabhanjan Kumar, a Congress leader who has won from Ward No 3 as an Independent candidate, told The Hindu.
“As per directions from KPCC president, we are sending our party councillors to Bengaluru. The next course of action will be decided by the party leadership,” Mr. Rafeeq told media representatives.
