By Vishnu Sreedharan
The Deputy Mayor is an official post indirectly elected from among the councillors for a term of five years. As the name suggests, the Deputy Mayor is the second in command to the Mayor and his/her main functions include substituting for the Mayor whenever he/she is absent from jurisdiction for more than 15 days, or if the office of the Mayor is vacant. The Deputy Mayor, due to his/her official position, is an ex-officio member and Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Finance and a member of the Steering Committee.