Hold BBMP polls to 198 wards, says Karnataka HC

In a setback to the state government, the Karnataka High Court on Friday held that the elections to the BBMP council will be held to only 198 wards.

The state government had brought in an amendment to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act 1976 and increased the total number of wards to 243.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty passed the order on separate PILs filed seeking direction to hold the elections at the earliest. The bench directed the State Election Commission (SEC), also one of the petitioners, to notify the elections to the BBMP within six weeks from the date of final notification of reservation.

The court ordered that though the amendment to KMC Act is valid, it will only be applicable for local bodies whose term expired after October 3. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council’s term had expired on September 10.