Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections: It’s advantage BJP

The exit polls and the pre-poll surveys may have predicted a hung house in the 198-seat BBMP council, but the BJP is not worried.

And they have a good reason to be happy. A tally of 96 seats is good enough for the BJP to reach the magic figure of 125, while the Congress, which is warming up to the JD(S), needs to score 108 to have its man as the mayor.

With MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Bangalore being part of the BBMP council, any aspirant for the mayor’s post would need at least 125 votes. Sitting MLAs, MLCs and MPs from constituencies falling under the BBMP jurisdiction have the voting right to elect a mayor in the BBMP council. The BJP already has 29 such captive votes in the form of its city MLAs, MLCs and MPs. So all it needs is just 96 seats to reach the magic figure of 125 to grab the mayor’s post.

The JD(S) has just 4 captive votes. However, the Congress and JD(S) together could spoil BJP’s plans. But it is a tall order as the combine would have to bag at least 104 of the 198 seats. “We are comfortably placed. Even under the worst situation of BJP winning just about 88 or 90 seats, we can have our way as all that we need is the support of just a few independents,” said BJP city unit spokesman S Prakash.