Prepared for BBMP elections, welcome SC order: Karnataka CM

PTI, May 20, 2022, 7:07 PM IST

Bengaluru: Welcoming the Supreme Court order on Friday regarding elections to the Bengaluru civic body, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state government is prepared and would make all arrangements to conduct the polls.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court said necessary notifications regarding delimitation of wards and determining reservation percentage for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) should be notified within eight weeks.

The apex court also noted that the process of delimitation of wards is at the “final stage” and formal notification will be issued shortly by the government.

The top court said it has been urged before it that the state may be permitted to issue notification regarding delimitation within eight weeks.

”The government will make all the arrangements to conduct the elections,” the Chief Minister told reporters, reacting to the order.

On whether the government will seek more time to conduct the elections, Bommai said the SC order has to be followed. “We are already prepared for the election,” he added.

The Chief Minister said the ”Madhya Pradesh judgement” was worrying the government because the apex court had ordered that the elections should be held for local bodies — urban and the rural without reservations.

“But the Supreme Court has amended both for Madhya Pradesh as well as the BBMP. They have allowed us to do delimitation and reservations in eight weeks as per the new act. I welcome the judgment,” Bommai said.

Stating that the delimitation of wards is in the final stage, the Chief Minister said he will direct the authorities concerned to issue a notification at the earliest.

He added that he has requested the committee working on the reservation of wards to finish it in eight weeks.

“One satisfactory matter for us is that in the previous order, the SC had directed conducting elections without any reservation for the OBC. We had however, decided not to conduct elections without reservations for the OBC and decided to contest it in the apex court. Accordingly, a good decision has taken place,” Bommai said.

Reacting to the Supreme Court order, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said the only task to be undertaken by the civic body is to conduct delimitation of wards whereas reservation of wards has to be done by the government.

“For this purpose, eight weeks time has been given within which we will do it. Delimitation is almost at the final stage. We will send it to the government,” Giri Nath said.

The Karnataka government decided to increase the number of wards from the existing 198 to 243. As a result, the delimitation of wards along with reservation was taken up, which delayed the BBMP election for almost two years.

The civic body was dissolved after the term was over on September 10, 2020.