BJP party member Gowtham Kumar wins the mayoral elections in Bengaluru

Gowtham Kumar, a member of the BJP has been declared as the winner of the mayoral elections in Bengaluru on October 1, 2019. Kumar defeated Congress nominee R S Sathyanarayana, climbing the road up to success. Kumar who is the face of the Jogupalya ward managed to secure 129 votes against Sathyanarayana. Sathyanarayana received 112 in a 249 vote electoral college, which comprises of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members along with MLAs and the MLCs from Bengaluru. While Kumar was elected as the 54th Mayor of Bengaluru, CR Rammohan Raju was picked as Bengaluru's new Deputy Mayor.

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The new Bengaluru Mayor 

This is the first time in four years a leader from the BJP has won the post. Gowtham Kumar will be replacing Congress leader Gangambike Mallikarjun. BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and CM BS Yediyurappa have been known to back different corporators with the BJP having a hard time deciding on their mayoral candidate. While Kateel backed Muneendra Kumar from North Bengaluru, Yediyurappa backed Padmanabha Reddy for the post. However, Gowtham Kumar finally made the list leading the party to victory. According to reports, Kumar who hails from Rajasthan belongs to the minority Jain community. As a consequence, he had the backing from PC Mohan, Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru Central according to sources. 

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Gowtham Kumar had earlier held various posts under the BJP's city unit. He is 42 years of age and has served as the secretary of BJP's Shantinagar unit for four years. Kumar has served in the State Yuva Morcha for six years as well. He has also served as the BBMP accounts committee chairman. Soon after Kumar's victory, celebrations broke at his residence with sweets being distributed to the people. However, Kannada Chalavali, a pro-Kannada organisation conducted a protest in the city stating that an 'outsider' has been welcomed in the city. 

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(With ANI inputs)