The five-year tenure of the 65 councillors of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) will end on Thursday signaling the countdown for the fresh elections which has to be announced by the government.
The five-year tenure began in 2018 and consequent to the end of the councillors’ tenure, the MCC will come under administrator’s rule with the MCC Commissioner to be at the helm of daily affairs till the councillors are elected again.
There was a farewell for the MCC councillors and the in-charge Mayor Shivakumar who also attended his last function at the Birsa Munda Jayanti celebrations which was inaugurated by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Wednesday.
The current elected body whose tenure ends on Thursday was significant as the BJP for the first time in the history of the MCC won the Mayor’s post when its candidate Sunanda Palanetra was elected. The BJP candidate Shivakumar was elected as Mayor for the last term as he was elected with the support of the Janata Dal (Secular) whose candidate G.Roopa was elected the Deputy Mayor.
Though there were concerns in certain circles that the elections to the MCC could be delayed, the Minister for Urban Development B.S. Suresh allayed such fears and said in Mysuru some time ago that there would be no delay. The Government will not wait till the Lok Sabha polls, he had stated pointing out that the election process entails issuing a notification 45 days in advance. The previous elections were held on August 31, 2018, and results declared on September 3, 2018. But the Mayor polls were held on November 17 and the five-year tenure commences from the day the elected councillors take oath.