The one-year tenure of Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) Mayor Savita Kamble and Deputy Mayor Anand Chavan concluded on Friday, setting the stage for new leadership. The mayoral elections are expected within the next two weeks, with the outgoing mayor and deputy mayor continuing as caretakers until then.
With the mayor’s post reserved for the general category and the deputy mayor’s seat earmarked for a general category woman, several BJP corporators have begun lobbying for these influential positions. Among the contenders for mayor are incumbent deputy mayor Anand Chavan, Girish Dhongadi, Nitin Jadhav, Raju Bhatkande, Abhijit Javalkar, and Udaykumar Upadi. However, there is little clarity on who will be fielded for the deputy mayor’s position.
Belagavi (South) MLA Abhay Patil and BJP vice-president and former MLA Anil Benake will make the final decision on the party’s candidates. Caste dynamics are also expected to play a role in the selection process. Sources indicate that this time, the mayor will likely be from Belagavi (South) and the deputy mayor from Belagavi (North).
The recent disqualification of two BJP corporators by Regional Commissioner S.B. Shettennavar has reduced the number of corporators in BCC to 56. However, with the voting rights of MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, the total number of votes in the corporation reaches 63. The BJP, which holds 33 elected seats, enjoys a comfortable majority, supported by two independent corporators. The Congress, with only 10 seats, is far from posing a challenge. Apart from BJP, Congress, and AIMIM (1 seat), the remaining members are independents.
Regional Commissioner S.B. Shettennavar, who also serves as the election officer, confirmed that the notification for the elections will be issued soon. He stated that while he has received instructions from BCC to conduct the elections, the final voters’ list is awaited. Additionally, the BCC council must discuss the disqualification of the two members before the election notification can be released.