Padmavathi, 50th mayor of Bengaluru, focuses on 2018 polls

BENGALURU: She puts it straight—the Congress party’s mandate is her task for one year tenure she has as Bengaluru’s 50th mayor. G Padmavathi, Congress candidate and councilor of Prakashnagar ward (number 98) in west Bengaluru won 142 votes in the mayoral election on Wednesday. There were a total of 262 voters including the 198 corporators of

BBMP

, MLAs and MPs of Bengaluru from Congress, BJP and JD(S). This year the mayor’s post is reserved for backward class (woman) candidate and her colleagues in the council—Soumya Shivakumar from JD(S) and DH Lakshmi from BJP were the other contestants for this plum post.

Asked on her agenda for the next one year, she replied to media, saying, “Wit all eyes on the upcoming state election in 2018, I will try fulfill CM’s desires for Bengaluru’s improvement. We will take up works on priority that will definitely score brownie points for the party in the crucial time.” But later she twisted that and said that will not be the only reason why she would be focusses on developmental works but she genuinely wants suggestions from media and citizens to guide her through her tenure.

Demolition drive over encroachment on storm water drains and lake beds being the most ambitious as well as criticized task that BBMP has undertaken, she was asked on whether she will continue the implementing the same. “That is not something that BBMP has control over. These properties built on storm water drains are illegal. CM has chartered out the programme to rehabilitate the poor people who were victims of the encroachment drive and we will follow his directions,” she said. She prioritized mobilization of financial resources in the Palike through the implementation of a new tax collection regime and catch big fishes who evade tax payment every year. She also wishes to launch a few health schemes but was not elaborate about these.