File photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel
A 49-year-old Indian-origin man in German city of Bonn has emerged as the front-runner for the city's top job ahead of this Sunday's polls to elect a new mayor, according to an opinion poll.
Ashok Sridharan, also known as the "Indian boy of Bonn", is the candidate of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He has established a narrow lead over his nearest rival Peter Ruhenstroth-Bauer of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Four other candidates also are in the race for the mayor's office.
Around 245,000 voters in Bonn will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new mayor.
Mr Sridharan, who is the son of a migrant from India and a German mother, currently serves as the treasurer and deputy mayor in the nearby town of Koenigswinter.
If elected, Mr Sridharan will become the first Indian-origin mayor of a major German city.
The CDU has pinned high hopes on its candidate to regain control of Bonn after more than 20 years' rule by the SPD.
Mr Sridharan's closeness to the citizens of Bonn has also been widely appreciated by his party colleagues, who bestowed him with the title "Indian boy of Bonn" at the CDU's carnival celebrations early this year.
Sridharan's nomination is also seen as a gesture of goodwill by the CDU towards Germany's ten million strong migrant community and a strong signal that they are welcome in the party.
During his election campaign, Sridharan emphasised that if elected, he will give top priority for reducing the city of Bonn's 1.7 billion euro debts and for achieving a balanced budget.