State Election Commission to announce Greater Bengaluru Authority poll dates in 10 days

The Karnataka State Election Commission is set to announce the election dates for the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) within the next ten days. This upcoming announcement is driven by a Supreme Court directive mandating that the local body polls must be conducted before the deadline of August 31. The move is set to restore local governance to Bengaluru, which has been without a local government since September 2020.

State Election Commission sources confirmed that official preparations for the polls have already commenced. Commission officials indicated that they will finalize and release the voting dates immediately after holding a consultation meeting with a representative from the GBA.

The election preparations follow the publication of the final GBA electoral rolls in April this year. Following the publication, the Congress party raised objections regarding the enrollment process in several wards across three corporations. To address these concerns, the State Election Commission is currently conducting a separate door-to-door survey in the disputed wards. Commission sources acknowledged that while this verification process may take time, they are bound to complete it and hold the elections before the August deadline.

Political parties across Bengaluru have already ramped up their poll preparations. The Congress party is expected to release a separate election manifesto specifically tailored for Bengaluru. Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has actively started taking officials from various city-related agencies to task, including representatives from the GBA and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). Winning the city's local body elections is seen as a major prestige issue for Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who previously held the portfolio of Bengaluru development minister.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) have decided to contest the upcoming GBA elections as partners. The two opposition parties are currently preparing to form a joint coordination committee to manage their electoral strategy in the city.