Bengaluru
In the first step towards holding the long-pending elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the State government notified revised ward delimitation for the urban local body on Friday. It came on the day Transport Minister and Bengaluru MLA Ramalinga Reddy announced that elections would be held in December.
Withdrawing the previous notification of 243 wards, the Urban Development Department (UDD) issued a fresh one exercising powers under the BBMP Act, 2020, reducing the number of wards to 225. The earlier delimitation was notified by the then BJP government.
The Congress government had been opposing the delimitation process alleging that it was carved out to favour the saffron party. The BJP government had increased the number of wards from 198 to 243. In June, the High Court granted about 12 weeks’ time for the government to redo delimitation.
Although the new notification was issued by the UDD, the department is yet publish the details of the changed ward boundaries. Sources in the BBMP said this is a clear indication that elections for the civic body that was long pending will be held soon. A senior BBMP official said the delimitation committee that was set up by the government recently has finalised the boundaries.
‘Polls in December’
Earlier in the day, Mr. Reddy had said the BBMP elections will be held in December this year. After assuming power, the Congress had formed a committee tasked to decide on conducting civic elections. This had Mr. Reddy, along with former Mayors G. Padmavathi and P.R. Ramesh, MLAs N.A. Haris and Priya Krishna, and Ministers Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna Byre Gowda, and Byrathi Suresh as members.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Reddy said: “In our indoor meetings, both the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister told us that the BBMP elections will be held by December and they have told our party workers to prepare for it.”
Earlier this year, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar had said that he is in consultation with his legal team over scrutinising the ward delimitation notified by the erstwhile BJP government in the first step towards holding polls for BBMP.
The tenure of the BBMP council concluded on September 10, 2020.
Meanwhile, hitting back at former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s allegation that the government has not paid salaries of the State Road Transport Corporation (RTCs) employees, Mr. Reddy clarified that Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees have received full payment on August 1 and other corporations will receive the salary on time, which is usually credited on the 7th of every month.
“Earlier, the employees of RTCs had received their salary after the 25th of the month and even next month a few times. Now, we are giving their salary on time,” Mr. Reddy said.
Responding to allegations of permission given to run a bar and restaurant in the BTM Layout Traffic Transit Management Centre (TTMC), Mr. Reddy said that a notice has been given to the said bar and restaurant. “I have not visited the spot and soon I will go and check. If there is illegal operation, the bar will be closed,” he added.
