Expedite Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike polls: SC

Polls are crucial and is seen by many as a precursor to Assembly polls due in 2023

The Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for conducting elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), two years after its previous term came to an end.

The elections are crucial and is seen by many as a precursor to the Karnataka Assembly polls due in 2023.

Critics argue that the elections have been postponed deliberately by the ruling BJP to fortify the positions of its MLAs, who have been calling the shots in Bengaluru in the absence of a civic body.

Bengaluru contributes 12.5% of the seats in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and over 60% of the State’s revenue annually.

On Friday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Karnataka, assured a Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar that delimitation of wards for the civic body polls was in its “final stage” and a “dedicated commission” was also in the process of determining the reservation to be provided for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) ahead of the elections.

Mr. Mehta said a “new” municipal corporation had been constituted under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act of 2020, which came into effect from January 11, 2021. The government subsequently wasted no time in proceeding with the delimitation and the formation of the dedicated commission for determining the OBC percentage.

The State said the tasks of delimitation of wards and the carving out of OBC reservation would be completed and notified within eight weeks.