Jayanand Anchan is new M’luru mayor

Mangaluru: BJP senior corporator Jayanand Anchan was elected as the mayor of Mangaluru on Friday.
The two-time corporator represents the Kadri Padavu ward and won the election defeating Congress candidate M Shashidhar Hegde.
Poornima, the BJP corporator for the Central Market ward, was elected the deputy mayor. She defeated the Congress’s Zeenath Shamsuddin.
The elections to the two posts and those of members of the four standing committees of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) were conducted by Mysuru regional commissioner GC Prakash in the presence of MCC commissioner Akshy Sridhar.
The BJP won 44 seats in the MCC election in 2019. The Congress has 14 corporators and SDPI has two members in the council.
Anchan and Poornima secured 46 votes each, and their opponents in the Congress bagged 14 votes each.
Out of 65 voters, 62 were present. They included MLAs D Vedavyas Kamath of Mangaluru City South and Dr Y Bharath Shetty of Mangaluru City North and 60 corporators.
Two corporators from the SDPI Muneeb Bengre and Shamshad Aboobakkar remained neutral.
The government had reserved the post of mayor for the 23rd term for a general category face and deputy mayor’s post for a Backward Class A woman candidate.
Seven members each for the town planning and reforms standing committee; public health and education standing committee; taxation, finance & appeal standing committee; and accounts standing committee were elected unanimously.
Expediting work a priority: Mayor
After his election, Jayanand Anchan said he would give priority to expediting all ongoing work, including the development of roads and implementation of the Jalasiri scheme, which envisages a 24x7 water supply to the city.
On GAIL India Limited digging roads for their gas pipeline project, the mayor said steps would be taken to restore all the dug-up roads. “I will take MLAs, MP, senior corporators, Leader of Opposition into confidence and work towards the comprehensive development of the city,” he said.
The 55-year-old Anchan, an entrepreneur, has studied in an ITI.He is a national-level powerlifter and has been a referee too.
He is a member of the Veeranjaneya Vyayama Shale at Bikarnakatte.
Deputy mayor Poornima, 39, is a two-time corporator.