369 wards, five corporations: Karnataka to hold Bengaluru civic polls this year

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the government will conduct all local body elections this year, including those for the five newly formed independent corporations in Bengaluru.

Shivakumar said the decision reflects the ruling Congress's confidence after its strong performance in the recent local body elections in Kerala. The KPCC president told reporters that the party is better placed now as the government has delivered an "unprecedented" number of projects across Bengaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also praised the city during his recent visit, he added.

The government has been postponing elections to the erstwhile BBMP since the five-year term of the elected council ended in September 2020. The BBMP was replaced by five corporations on September 2, which together will have 369 municipal wards. Shivakumar, who is also in charge of Bengaluru city affairs, said elections to these bodies will be completed this year.


He said ticket aspirants have been asked to submit applications by January 15. The fee has been fixed at ₹50,000 for general candidates and ₹25,000 for women and SC/ST candidates. The funds collected from the sale of forms will be used to build party offices across the state, he said. Shivakumar has also sought at least 10 applications from women in each ward.