Legal battle may delay BBMP polls

It appears that the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will now be held only after fresh delimitation of the wards in the capital. This would require not less than three to four months.

Official sources said the single bench of the High Court had directed the government to conduct elections without making any changes in the composition of the existing wards. But the order has been set aside by the division bench.

This takes the situation back to the preliminary stage where the State Election Commission (SEC) had planned to conduct the elections to the wards after fresh delimitation. The Urban Development Department (UDD) would have to carry out the delimitation based on the 2011 census outcome.

The 198 wards of the BBMP were created in 2010 based on the 2001 census outcome, as that was the latest report available. Delimitation of wards means rationalisation of wards and redistribution of population equitably. While some wards have as less as 20,000 population, some others have more than 50,000 population.

The SEC, on June 17, 2013, had written to the government to give the ward formation report based on the 2011 census. But the government has not yet taken a final call on the issue. Though a couple of meetings were held between the SEC and the government, no decision has been reached. If the wards are carved out newly, then even the reservation of wards would have to change. This is bound to be a time-consuming process.

Following the division bench order on Friday, the government is relieved. Sources said that in case the BJP moves the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order, then the matter may get enmeshed in a legal battle for at least a couple of years. This would lead to indefinite postponement of the elections and this is exactly what the ruling party wants, the sources said.

The Palike was under the administrator’s rule for three years before the elections were held in April 2010.

Sources in the UDD categorically said the government was firm on trifurcating the Palike, and hence, the question of delimitation arises only after the goal is reached. For the government, delimitation also means trifurcation.

The government has no option but to go by the 2011 census while redistributing the population for the wards, the SEC has been arguing. The draft delimitation report is ready, but the same has not been forwarded to the government for its approval.

There are 70 lakh to 75 lakh voters as per the information available with the Election Commission in January this year. Once the process of delimitation is completed, then a revised voters’ list has to be kept ready. Now, the ruling party is not unduly worried about the possible chances of referring the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, to a select committee of the Legislative Council. If the committee recommends amendment to the bill, opposing the trifurcation, the bill will have to be placed in the council and later it has to get passed in the assembly, too.  In such a situation, the bill will sail through in the assembly as the ruling party has a majority here, the sources said.