Karnataka government keen on holding BBMP polls between June and August

The State government is keen on holding the long-pending elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in July or August this year and is reportedly making necessary preparations for the same. 

The State government is keen on holding the long-pending elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in July or August this year and is reportedly making necessary preparations for the same. 

Although the term of the previous BBMP council ended in September 2020, the polls were not held till date. Amidst delays in local elections, former Congress councillors Abdul Wajid and M. Shivaraju petitioned the High Court of Karnataka, urging an expedited electoral process. However, the State Election Commission (SEC) cited pending ward delimitation and reservation finalisation as reasons for the delay. The High Court directed elections for 198 wards in 2020, but the government expanded them to 243 under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020. A subsequent Supreme Court stay allowed the BJP-led government to proceed with the new wards.

However, following a change in government in 2023, the number was revised to 225.  Later, the government introduced the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBA) Bill, 2024, which allows for the city’s civic body to be split into multiple corporations. Currently, a 14-member committee is reviewing the Bill and is expected to submit its report by the end of the month.

Sources in the government said that MLAs across party lines are split over the polls. In the past, MLAs were opposed to the polls as the power would slip into the hands of the councillors. Now with inordinate delay, some MLAs are of the opinion that presence of council is necessary for smooth city governance, sources said.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, a senior MLA from the city and who heads a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on BBMP polls, said that the government is keen to pass the GBA Bill 2024 in the next Assembly session. “Once the Bill is passed, it will be sent to the Governor for assent. We are hopeful that the Bill will sail through. Under the GBA the BBMP will be split into multiple corporations and the elections will be held,” he said.

On being quizzed as to what the government will do if the Governor refuses consent for the Bill, the Minister said that then elections will be held to 225 wards of the BBMP. “The State government is contemplating holding polls between June and August,” he said.