BENGALURU: Close on the heels of the bypolls to Hanagal and Sindagi on October 30, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will have another electoral challenge on his hands — the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections. The State Election Commission’s (SEC) petition against the stay order on the BBMP polls, which was filed last month, has been accepted, and the hearing on it is likely to be completed this month.
Meanwhile, the Palike is gearing up for a bigger BBMP Council by changing the seating arrangements in the hall. For this, a sum of Rs 10 crore has been allocated. The total seating capacity in the council hall will be increased (with an increase in the number of wards) from the present 198. Many MLAs from Bengaluru, including those from the BJP, are also in favour of the BBMP going to polls. It has been over a year that the city is without a council.
In December 2020, the Karnataka High Court had directed the State Government to conduct elections for 198 wards within six weeks, but the latter filed a petition in the Supreme Court stressing on the new BBMP Act that envisages 243 wards. The SEC had filed its objection. Meanwhile, the SEC filed another petition in September this year.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, State Election Commissioner Basavaraju said they had stressed about the delay in holding civic body polls. “Our petition has been accepted and the next hearing is at the end of this month,” he added. The BBMP is also gearing up for more changes. Palike sources said the existing council hall has a seating capacity for 198 members and 20 nominated councillors. But, with 243 wards, and more nominated councillors, the seating capacity needs to be 270-280.
“Our engineers are working on it,’’ BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, while not divulging further details. Besides, the District Election Officer has commenced summary revision of electoral rolls in Bengaluru, as directed by the Election Commission of India. Final publication of the electoral roll will be out by January 2022.
In December last year, the BBMP Joint Select Committee, headed by BJP MLA S Raghu, submitted its recommendations favouring 243 wards. “We have started the delimitation process for 243 wards. The draft is expected to be ready in the next few days,” Gupta said.
Meanwhile, BJP sources said a few of the party MLAs are keen on holding the BBMP elections. “The Assembly elections are in 2023, by when the MLAs want councillors to reach out to each ward,” sources said.