Karnataka to publish final ward boundaries; 369 likely for Bengaluru

Naveen Menezes: The Karnataka government will soon publish the final boundaries for Bengaluru's five municipal corporations, paving the way for the civic body elections.

The total number of wards is expected to be 369, one more than the 368 notified last month. The additional ward has been created in the Bengaluru West City Corporation, bringing its total to 112.

“We received about 4,800 inputs on the draft boundaries. The final notification will be published soon. The government will then begin notifying ward reservations,” said Tushar Girinath, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department (UDD).

In September, the government set up a four-member delimitation commission, headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao, to draw ward boundaries for all five corporations. By the month end, the commission recommended 368 wards, published in the September 30 draft notification.

The draft distributed the wards as follows: Bengaluru Central (63), East (50), North (72), South (72), and West (111). Based on 2023 data, the average population of a ward in Central, West, North and South is around 40,000, while East, which covers two large assembly constituencies, averages 26,000.

On October 8, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar hinted at adding one more ward to Bengaluru, citing the belief that nine is auspicious as it aligns with 'navagraha' (nine planets).

This is the third time ward boundaries have been modified since the now-dissolved BBMP held elections a decade ago.

In July 2022, the BJP-led government expanded the BBMP to 243 wards, up from 198. The Congress government later reduced the number to 225.

In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government promised to publish the final notification by November 1, but missed the deadline. It also committed to fixing ward reservations by November 30. It remains to be seen if the government will meet this deadline.

Meanwhile, all major parties — Congress, BJP, JD(S), Aam Aadmi Party and Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party — have begun preparing for elections. The reduced ward sizes may open the field for new faces.