Greater Bengaluru elections offer Bengaluru MLAs opportunity to build cadre

Bengaluru: With elections to the five newly formed corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) expected in May-June, all three major parties — Congress, BJP and JD(S) — have launched preparations, setting the stage for an intense political contest. Voters will elect corporators to 369 wards — a steep increase from the previous 198 wards — across 28 assembly constituencies. The expanded civic structure has opened opportunities for city MLAs to consolidate their political bases by building networks for corporators, viewed as a key resource for the next assembly elections.
"These polls will present legislators like me both opportunities and challenges," said Arshad Rizwan, Shivajinagar MLA from Congress. "The challenge is to win a majority for our party, so candidates should be selected carefully based on reservation pattern and winnability. As per the reservation policy, 50% will be women. It is an opportunity for youngsters since it offers an ideal launchpad into electoral politics." Congress moved early by inviting applications from aspiring candidates. The party received 943 applications by the Feb 7 deadline. It charged general category aspirants Rs 50,000 as application fee and women and Dalits Rs 25,000. Senior functionaries said the next step is scrutiny of applications and preparation of a preliminary list for each ward. "While the preliminary list may have three or four potential candidates for a ward, a shortlist will be prepared based on the reservation pattern which is yet to be announced," said Abdul Wajid, vice-president, Congress' Bengaluru city unit (north). "The screening committee will finalise candidates after polls are announced." The process of finalising ward reservation is underway, with a panel examining public objections to the draft notification issued on Jan 8. Sources said the panel received 2,400 objections before the window closed on Jan 23, and a final notification is expected on Feb 20. Meanwhile, Karnataka State Election Commission is processing objections to the draft electoral rolls published on Jan 19, with final rolls due on March 31. Elections are expected to be held about 45 days thereafter. Principal opposition BJP has also launched preparations, even as details of its alliance with JD(S) are yet to be finalised. Senior functionaries Ram Madhav and Satish Upadhyaya have been tasked with coordinating preparations and they met with city MLAs and MPs on Saturday. Further meetings are scheduled for Feb 28 and March 1, separately for each of the five corporations. JD(S) has convened a meeting on Feb 14, with Union minister and party state president HD Kumaraswamy set to review poll preparations. "A decision on an alliance and strategy will be decided by brass of the two parties. As city MLAs, our job is to rope in suitable candidates and ensure their victory," said CN Ashwathnarayan, senior BJP MLA.