Govt looks to SC again to get Palike polls postponed

The State government appears to have exhausted almost all the options before it to get the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) postponed further. And yet, it is looking to the Supreme Court where the matter will come for hearing on Monday.

According to sources in the ruling Congress, the government does not have much hope on stalling the polls through the legislative route. The controversial Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2015, which seeks to restructure the Bengaluru municipal area, is unlikely to get the nod of the Upper House of the Legislature where the Opposition parties are in majority.

The government was planning to dissolve the BBMP by amending the bill, putting a permanent end to the question of holding elections to it. By doing so, it wanted to achieve its twin goals: postponing the elections and establishing five new corporations in place of the BBMP. The government wants to postpone the polls for a few more months so that the ruling party can make adequate preparations, especially building its image in Bengaluru.

The sources said even if the bill sails through in the Council, it is not likely to get Governor Vajubhai Vala’s assent. Vala had a few weeks ago refused to promulgate an ordinance seeking to restructure the Bengaluru municipal area. Now, the government does not have much time as the State Election Commission (SEC) has already fixed August 22 as the election date.

In the event of the bill getting defeated in the Upper House, the government had plans to get it passed again in the Assembly and send it directly to the governor for his assent. But now, the government is not very confident of doing it, as it has very limited time. Moreover, the officials in the State Legislature are not clear about the constitutional provisions in this regard. Officials in the Council are of the view that a bill has to come back to the Upper House for its approval for the second time also and that the Assembly cannot send it directly to the governor.

30 days’ time

The Council will have 30 days’ time to pass the bill. If not, it is deemed as passed. If defeated for the second time, then the government can directly send it to the governor. The only exception is money bill, the officials added.

But the officials in the Assembly do not agree with it. They say that the Lower House can directly send a bill (defeated in the Council) to the governor after approving it for the second time.

It is for the first time that the Legislature is witnessing such a situation on a bill. The government, for its part, is playing the cards close to its chest. And it appears that it is not in a mood to try this option either.