Karnataka: Government may seek more time to hold BBMP, ZP & TP polls

BENGALURU: Although chief minister Basavaraj Bommai promised to hold elections as per the timeline, local body elections, which have been pending for more than a year in Karnataka, are likely to be delayed beyond the Supreme Court’s (SC) time frame thanks to procedural issues.
The SC, on May 20, fixed an eight-week deadline to complete all prerequisites for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls, and directed the state government to finish ward delimitation and reservation by July 15.It also ordered the State Election Commission (SEC) to begin preparations – drawing up electoral rolls etc – to hold polls within a week thereafter. The next hearing in the SC is scheduled for July 22 and the government and SEC are required to submit a report on work done by then.
However, work on the ground suggests the process may be delayed, and the government is likely to seek more time. P Ravi Kumar, chief secretary said: “The government is doing its best to comply with the SC order. Work is in progress and we will review it at regular intervals. Meanwhile, the RDPR department has already moved the SC seeking more time to conduct zilla and taluk panchayat elections. The department arhgues that it will take more than three months to finalise delimitation of wards and fix reservation. The Karnataka high court will hear a case related to ZP and TP elections on Tuesday and RDPR officials said they will make the same submission as it made before the SC.
The main reason for the delay is determining political reservation for other backward classes (OBC) after the SC, in a landmark judgement, struck down the existing quota and ordered state governments to provide empirical data to justify political reservation. The Karnataka government on May 7 constituted a commission headed by retired judge Justice K Bhaktavatsala to recommend category-wise quantum of reservation for the OBCs in local bodies. The commission was given three months to submit its report.
However, the two-member commission is yet to begin work as the government has not yet provided office space or required staff. “We are waiting for the government order on the allocation of office space and staff. I think we can finish the job within the timeframe with the government’s support and cooperation,” said Justice Bhaktavatsala. On the delimitation front, the state has asked a committee headed by the BBMP chief commissioner to submit a report on ward delimitation as soon as possible.
Rakesh Singh, additional chief secretary, urban development, said the report will be ready in a couple of days. The government has appointed a panel headed by retired IAS officer N Lakshminarayan to oversee delimitation of ZP-TP constituencies, and the panel is expected to take about two months to submit its report. “Considering all this, it is practically impossible to comply with the SC’s deadline. We have no option but to seek more time,” said a senior official.