Ashok Sridharan, a 49-year-old Indian-origin man in the German city of Bonn, also known as the "Indian boy of Bonn", who is the candidate of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has emerged as the front-runner for the city's top job ahead of the polls to elect a new mayor, according to an opinion poll. He has established a narrow lead over his nearest rival Peter Ruhenstroth-Bauer of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). 26 per cent of the voters are still undecided about their vote, according to the polls.

Around 245,000 voters in Bonn will be going to the polling booths on Sunday to elect their new mayor. Sridharan, is the son of a migrant from India and a German mother and currently serves as the treasurer and deputy mayor in the nearby town of Koenigswinter.

Sridharan closeness to the citizens of Bonn has been widely appreciated by his party colleagues, who has bestowed him with the title "Indian boy of Bonn" at the CDU's carnival celebrations early this year.

Bonn is one of the 178 cities and towns which will choose their new mayors and municipal councils in the state of North Rhine Westphalia. The election in the former German capital has gained special significance and its outcome will be watched with great enthusiasm across this nation.

By Premji