BENGALURU: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Saturday that elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council will be held by December. The state government on Friday ordered setting up of new committees for delimitation of BBMP wards.
“The findings of the previous committee have been challenged in court. The previous committee went ahead with gerrymandering of ward boundaries to suit those in power then. And let none of us forget that they did all this after their stipulated time ended and the committee’s very legitimacy stood in question,’’ Reddy told TNSE.
He said, “While the delimitation commission was constituted on January 29, 2021, with a tenure of six months, the report was submitted on June 23, 2022. This was nearly 11 months after the tenure of the commission ended. On July 6, a scrutiny committee was constituted to review objections.’’
Reddy said, “The High Court judge stated that there was no legally constituted delimitation commission, and its tenure was extended post facto, which is bad in law.’’ He said the notification was issued on July 14 in an irregular manner.
“The previous government first decided the number of wards and only then constituted the delimitation commission. This responsibility rests with the delimitation commission,’’ he added. He said, “The High Court also noted there exists a clear deviation of 12%, a violation of rules.’’