BNP holds day-long fast against Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) on Sunday held a rally and a day-long fast at Freedom Park, demanding changes to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, which was passed in the Karnataka legislature last week.

The party believes that the control of MLAs over municipal governance must be reduced and has proposed a workable decentralisation model along with autonomous city governance.

Hundreds of people from different walks of life, including activists, industry leaders, intellectuals, and doctors, participated in the event. They collectively resolved to approach the Governor and the High Court.

Addressing the gathering, Srikanth Narasimhan, Founder and General Secretary of BNP, said the Bill lacks clarity on the governance structure, daily operations, and the model of decentralisation.

“Can you have three, five, or seven mayors for a city? Or will you have two or just one? It is not clear. If you have too many, how will you coordinate? And if you have only one, how will you decentralise? This is why citizen voices are crucial — we need to avoid both over-centralisation and an unworkable decentralisation,” he said.

He also pointed out that BBMP elections have been unreasonably delayed for 50 months, and ward committees are almost non-functional. “Who is accountable for addressing citizens' concerns? The Bill does not emphasise any of these fundamental aspects,” he said.

The party has called for the devolution of 18 urban development functions to municipalities and argues that the "Greater Bengaluru Authority" in its current form is a bureaucratic hurdle.

“Bengaluru needs a Metropolitan Planning Committee focused on urban development and a mayor with real executive authority — just as a Chief Minister governs a state. Without this, governance will continue to be driven by political interests rather than by the people.”

Formed by passionate and engaged citizens, BNP is a unique political party, exclusively focused on Bengaluru and BBMP. It is preparing to contest the BBMP elections whenever they are announced, but has no plans to contest state or parliamentary elections.