BENGALURU: Following the split in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and announcement of five corporations, BJP leaders have lashed out at the Congress government, saying that Padmanabhanagar, RR Nagar, Dasarahalli and Mahadevapura have been deliberately added into different zones.
City BJP President S Harish said the move behind the unscientific split is to delay elections. Supporting Harish’s claim, Umesh Shetty, former Nagarbhavi corporator, said the attempt is to create confusion among voters. “Mahadevapura’s Bellandur is added into East and South corporations, and will add a lot of confusion,” he said.
“The basic rule for delimitation of municipalities is that assembly constituencies should not be disturbed, but the Congress government has done it. Padmanabha Nagar, the assembly seat of Opposition leader R Ashoka, is divided. One part is with the Bengaluru South corporation, and the other with West. Most BJP-ruled assembly segments are targeted, and this exercise is to delay municipal elections,” said Harish.
RR Nagar MLA Munirathna Naidu, whose constituency is divided between three corporations, blamed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh, without naming them. He said, “They got me entangled in police cases, they are avenging Lok Sabha poll result as Dr CN Manjunath defeated Suresh. Because of the unscientific delimitation, my assembly voters will suffer. The constituency is divided between Bengaluru South, North and West corporations. This delimitation will create confusion among voters and delay municipal polls.”
BJP leaders contended that the party will approach court over splitting of the corporation and dividing BJP-ruled assembly segments.
“The party will surely take the matter to court, and I am personally contemplating approaching court too, as 50 per cent of my constituency is in Bengaluru North corporation, and the remaining in West,” said Dasarahalli BJP MLA Muniraju.