Civic polls will be held in May, DKS tells ticket aspirants

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar urges ticket aspirants to engage voters ahead of May's Bengaluru civic polls during a key meeting.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), urged all aspirants seeking tickets to contest the upcoming Bengaluru civic polls to work for the party irrespective of whether they secure a ticket or not. He told the aspirants that the election will be held in May and that there should be no confusion regarding it.

Mr. Shivakumar held a preparatory meeting with ticket aspirants and office-bearers for the GBA civic body elections at Bharat Jodo Bhavan in Bengaluru on Sunday (March 15). The meeting was attended by over 950 aspirants and several city Congress leaders. “Forget the ticket for now and start the footwork. Visit all houses in your wards and work towards fixing voter list discrepancies; work for the party together before dreaming of a ticket,” Mr. Shivakumar told the gathering, according to sources.

Mr. Shivakumar also urged the aspirants to cover all houses at the booth level without missing any. “Meet the voters and get to know them. If you know your voters, you will know your booth. If you know your booth, then you will own your ward,” Mr. Shivakumar told the aspirants. He said that he would monitor dedicated workers and select candidates from among them.

In February, Mr. Shivakumar submitted a memorandum to State Election Commissioner G.S. Sangreshi alleging serious lapses in the voter list revision ahead of the local body elections. He sought immediate corrective steps, including the preparation of a fresh roll after proper mapping. Following this, voter roll revision was taken up.

According to party sources, more than 1,500 aspirants have expressed interest in contesting the civic body polls by submitting applications. Tickets are likely to be announced after the announcement of election dates. The State government recently published the final notification of ward reservation.