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Uncertainty looms over conducting B’luru civic body polls
The BBMP delimitation which expanded the number of wards from 198 to 243 has already come under sharp criticism from various quarters including the political opposition.
The publishing of the ward-wise reservation list for Bengaluru city corporation limits has taken the process of elections one step closer even as uncertainty continues to loom over the possibility of polls this close to next year’s assembly elections.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been blamed for delaying the elections for the 243 wards of civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
“With each passing month, the opposition for conducting any elections before 2023 continues to grow. Even a section of our own party are objecting to the possibility of conducting any urban local body elections,” said a BJP legislator, requesting anonymity.
The statements come at a time when the Karnataka chief minister and the state government are dealing with accusation of corruption and neglecting civic infrastructure.
The elections for zilla and taluka panchayat have also not been held.
The BBMP delimitation which expanded the number of wards from 198 to 243 has already come under sharp criticism from various quarters including the political opposition.
The BBMP elections were to be held in mid-2020 and the results were likely to have any major impact on the assembly elections in 2023.But closer to the assembly polls, the BJP has seemed to be reluctant to take any chances this time around as it has held power in the city corporation for two successive terms since 2010.
Meanwhile, state BJP vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana on Thursday said the state government has submitted the ward-wise reservation list to the Supreme Court.
“We have started preparations for the BBMP elections as we have a deadline to hold elections by October. The process of candidate selection will be initiated as soon as the election commission declares the dates,” he said.
Bengaluru accounts for 28 out of the total 224 assembly constituencies in the state and any upset in the state capital is likely to dent the BJP’s re-election bid next year. In May, the Karnataka government had told the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case in the matter, that elections could be held within 10 weeks, in which not just new wards would be drawn, but reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBC) will also be included.
According to the draft notification, nearly half of the total 243 seats will be reserved for OBCs,SCs and STs. The breakup is as follows: 81 seats have been reserved for OBCs, while 28 have been reserved for SCs and four for STs. The remaining 130 seats will be occupied by general category candidates. Women will be taking up half of the total seats.
“The BJP government in Karnataka which is cornered with huge accusations of corruption and has been unable to fix the collapsing infrastructure in Bengaluru has tried every trick in the book to postpone elections and not hold elections till the assembly polls in 2023. However, due to the order by the Supreme Court, the BJP feels cornered,” said Aam Aadmi Party state president Prithvi Reddy.
“Not only do they have to face their failures but they do not know how to handle the emerging (popularity of) AAP,” Reddy said.
“I have my doubts (if the BJP will hold BBMP elections) but nonetheless we have to be prepared. We are trying to prepare ourselves. If they conduct elections we can go ahead but they (BJP) are also not confident of a good result because it is too close to assembly elections,” Congress legislator from Shivajinagar Rizwan Arshad said
