BENGALURU: With the High Court directing the State Election Commission to complete the long-pending BBMP polls before December 31, former Congress and JDS members expressed doubts over the government holding the elections, while former BJP members say the party is always ready to face the polls.
Leaders like M Shivaraju and G Padmavathi from Congress and Bhadre Gowda opined that some may now approach the double bench on OBC reservations and this could lead to further delay. Shivaraju, who had petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in holding the BBMP elections, said the government could still resort to many ways to stall the polls. “Some BJP supporters may challenge the reservation process in court and may move the double bench. This may defer the elections. As the Assembly elections are due early next year, the polls may further get delayed,” he observed.
Echoing it, former BBMP mayor Padmavathi said BJP is scared of losing the municipality polls due to its bad administration. “Increased potholes, flooded areas and scams during their term have dented their image. They are deliberately opposing ward delimitation and reservation and it will be used to stall the election,” she alleged.
Joining the former BBMP Council members, former deputy mayor and JDS leader Bhadre Gowda said, “It’s been two years since the BBMP Council term ended and the government did not make any effort to hold the polls. Even in 2008, when BJP came to power for the first time, they delayed the polls by two years. However, the court order is a relief,” said Gowda. The HC direction is a ray of hope, said former mayor N Manjunath Reddy and former BBMP opposition leader Abdul Wajid. They said the verdict is like a slingshot against the BJP government as it is deliberately delaying the polls, as they have to respect the court order and ensure the polls are conducted now.
Former BJP corporators like L Srinivas and Padmanabha Reddy said the elections will be held for sure. While Srinivas said preparations like delimitation and OBC reservation are done, indicating that the government wanted to hold the election, Reddy said BJP is always ready as it is confident of winning.
BBMP CHIEF SAYS BODY READY TO CONDUCT ELECTIONS
Bengaluru: Reacting to the High Court order regarding the BBMP polls, Palike Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said that the civic body has made all preparations to conduct the elections in the background of the decision taken at the government level. The commissioner stated that the Palike acted only in regard to the boundaries of 243 wards. “There is a hearing in the court about the reservation list, and the Palike has nothing to do with the reservation list as it is in the state government’s ambit,” he said. He added that the civic body is ready to conduct the election whenever the date is announced by the Election Commission. The Palike finalised and published the final voter list two days ago.