Bengaluru, Feb 24 The Karnataka BJP has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, requesting directions to conduct elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) immediately without further delay.
Former mayors Gautham and Narayanaswamy, along with former deputy mayors and district president Harish, have signed the petition, stated state BJP chief spokesperson Ashwath Narayan on Monday.
State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra had formed a committee regarding this issue. The committee, through senior advocate Sandeep Patil, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, urging that elections be conducted in Bengaluru at the earliest, he stated.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up on Tuesday, February 25 the matter related to conducting polls for the BBMP. The state government has told the Supreme Court that elections to the newly constituted municipal corporations in Bengaluru after the passage of the proposed Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill can take place only after Aug 15, 2025.
The term of the previous council ended in September 2020, and despite numerous delays and legal challenges, civic polls have not been conducted. This prolonged absence of elected candidates has raised questions regarding the public representation in the BBMP and the highhandedness of the officials.
Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who represents the BTM Layout constituency in Bengaluru, said on Monday that the long-pending elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) must be conducted in May, irrespective of any challenges. The last time Bengaluru elected a municipal council was in September 2020, over four years ago.
Addressing concerns over the delay, Reddy defended the Congress-led government, attributing the postponement to plans for establishing a Greater Bengaluru Authority. He reiterated that the elections must take place in May to avoid possible intervention by the Supreme Court.
“In 2008, under BJP rule, municipal elections were postponed for nearly three years. Similarly, the BJP government in 2020 failed to hold the elections on time,” he alleged.
The Greater Bengaluru Bill (GBB), 2024, vouched by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar aims to restructure Bengaluru’s governance by splitting BBMP into 10 smaller corporations under the advisory of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The bill was introduced during the session and referred to a 13-member joint house committee.
On Dec 18, 2020, the Supreme Court suspended the operation of the High Court order for conducting BBMP polls to 198 wards instead of 243 as mandated under the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, enacted to govern Bengaluru.
In its written response, the state government has told the Supreme Court that the revised Greater Bengaluru Bill, 2024 is expected to be placed before the State Legislature in the upcoming budget session which starts from March 3.
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