Sunanda Palanetra is first Mysuru mayor from BJP

MYSURU: Thirty-eight years after Mysuru municipal body was upgraded to a corporation, Mysuru has a BJP mayor for the first time as an alliance between Congress and JD(S) broke down on Wednesday.
Lady luck smiled on senior BJP corporator Sunanda Palanetra, six months after her unsuccessful bid. Sunanda who was all teary-eyed in February after she lost the mayoral polls, was all smiles after Wednesday’s election.However, the 26th mayor will only have a six-month tenure as her term ends on February 23, 2022.
A three-term corporator from Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) ward 59 (Kuvempunagar M Block), Sunanda won the election by securing 26 votes against HM Shantakumari of Congress and Ashwini Ananthu from JD(S). Both her opponents got 22 votes. The election was held following the disqualification of JD(S) corporator Rukmini Madegowda as corporator following a petition filed by her Congress opponent. Following her disqualification as a corporator, Rukmini lost the mayor’s post.
Regional commissioner of Mysuru division GC Prakash conducted the elections. MCC commissioner G Lakshmikantha Reddy was present.
District minister ST Somashekar, who was in the city, rushed to the MCC after the party’s win. He attributed the success to party leaders and corporators, but did not comment on JD(S). He greeted the newly elected mayor and said it will help in the development of the city.
Was close to becoming mayor last time:
Sunanda Palanetra, who is a relative of former CM BS Yediyurappa, had suffered defeat during the previous mayoral elections. She was close to becoming the mayor last time, but at the last moment, JD(S) joined hands with Congress to bag the mayor’s post.
JD(S) corporator Rukmini Madegowda from ward 36 had became mayor and Congress corporator Anwar Baig was deputy mayor. The disappointed Sunanda even planned to resign as corporator. She has completed Masters in Political Science from the University of Mysore. Her husband Palanetra is a retired engineer and her two daughters are a doctor and engineer each. “I am happy to become the mayor. I will focus on the development of the city jointly with all corporators cutting across partylines,” she said.
Political drama for mayor’s post:
Both the Congress and JD(S) leaders held discussions till the 11th hour before the election, but it did not yield any results. As JD(S) members refused to vote for their nominee, Congress members shouted slogans against JD(S) members and staged a walkout. Former minister and Congress MLA Tanveer Sait, who was tasked with getting the mayor’s post for the party, said he accepts the responsibility for the defeat of the party even as he stressed that it is this scenario that he tried to stop in February when he agreed for JD(S) mayor while settling for deputy mayor’s post. “I take the responsibility for the setback,” he told reporters adding he had conveyed to JD(S) that the party will give JD(S) the deputy mayor’s post with the incumbent Anwar Baig stepping down from deputy mayor’s post. But JD(S) did not budge,” he stated.
Accusing the partner of ditching its secular credentials, Congress members staged a walkout from the meeting without waiting for the voting of JD(S) candidate. Later, the JD(S) corporators too protested outside the MCC building against the Congress accusing it of being power hungry.