BBMP POLL: Even before election, BJP walks away with first seat

BENGALURU: Bharati Ramachandra, a woman candidate from the BJP , was elected unopposed as the corporator of the Hongasandra ward on Thursday, ahead of the BBMP polls scheduled for August 22.

Ramachandra turned out to be the only candidate left in the fray in this ward as the nomination of Congress nominee K Maheshwari was rejected on the grounds that her caste certificate was not in order. Two independent candidates -Shaheena and Shwetha withdrew from the fray while the JD(S) did not field any candidate.

“I would have won with at least 15,000 votes anyway,“ claimed Bharati, a homemaker who has studied till Class 10. “Perhaps, the independent candidates knew they did not have much chance, so they withdrew,“ she said. Her husband Ramachandra is a two-time corporator in the erstwhile Bommanahalli City Municipal Council.

With 55,320 voters, the Hongasandra ward (189) comes under the Bommanahalli assembly constituency, represented by BJP's M Satish Reddy. “Our MLA has been supportive and I don't think he influenced the independent candidates to withdraw,“ Bharati said.