In all likelihood, Prajarajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi’s distant relative M Ratna Bindu would become the Vijayawada city mayor as the Congress party’s nominee ahead of the next general election. The incumbent mayor Mallika Begum will quit her job at the special meeting of the council on Saturday. The two-year term of Mallika Begum came to an end on Friday and she has decided to honour the agreement reached before her election. Begum would leave the council immediately after placing her resignation before the general body for its approval. The deputy mayor would preside for a shortwhile to make the council’s decision public and adjourn the meeting. The State Election Commission (SEC) after getting the confirmation letter from the district collector would decide the date for the next meeting. Sources said that it would take another 15-20 days time for conducting the mayoral election. Meanwhile, the local MP Rajagopal is reportedly lobbying with the chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy and PCC chief D Srinivas to prevent Ratna Bindu from occupying the chair. His contention is that Ratna Bindu might shift loyalties to Chiranjeevi just before the elections, which could jeopardize the interests of the Congress. However, city legislators Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, Devineni Nehru and city Congress president P Sominaidu are all in favour of Ratna Bindu. She is a nephew of Allu Aravind, brother-in-law of Chiranjeevi. Two years ago, the Congress nominated Mallika Begum to the post of mayor when the CPI’s Tadi Sakunthala resigned after completion of one year in the office. The CPI, CPM and Congress fought municipal elections jointly with an understanding that the left parties should share first two years leaving the remaining three years to the Congress.