Preparations for Bengaluru civic polls will be completed by Dec 1: Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Jul 30 (PTI) Preparations for the elections to Bengaluru’s five newly formed city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Area will be completed by December 1, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday.

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, made this statement at a meeting of party leaders of the Bengaluru zone here.

"A meeting of the officers of the Greater Bengaluru Authority was held yesterday and preparations are underway for the Bengaluru municipal elections. After discussing with the MLAs of Bengaluru city, it has been decided to form five city municipal corporations in Bengaluru, and preparations for holding elections have started from yesterday.

I am going to submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court regarding the municipal elections in the next three to four days,” the Deputy CM said.

Noting that officials have been instructed to complete all election-related processes, including reallocation of wards and public objections and voter list preparation by December 1, he said, "you (party leaders) should also start preparations in your assembly constituencies, wards and booths." The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken to hold the Bengaluru municipal polls as per the new law passed by the State legislature.

The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, which allowed creation of up to seven city corporations to manage the city, came into effect from May 15, and the Greater Bengaluru Area was limited to the area covered by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Accordingly, the government has decided to constitute five city corporations in the 'Greater Bengaluru Area': Bengaluru West City Corporation, Bengaluru South City Corporation, Bengaluru North City Corporation, Bengaluru East City Corporation, and Bengaluru Central City Corporation.

The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act also provides for a constitution of a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for coordination and supervision, and 30 months terms for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.

The GBA would be headed by the Chief Minister as the ex-officio chairperson, while the minister in charge of development of Bengaluru would be the ex-officio vice-chairperson. PTI KSU ROH