Bengaluru elections: SC allows time till December end, CM DK Shivakumar rules out any more extensions

The Supreme Court on Friday conceded a request from the Karnataka government and allowed it to hold elections to the five city corporations in Bengaluru in December after the completion of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohana directed the state government to hold elections in December since the SIR process was expected to be over by November.

This would be the first time Bengaluru’s five corporations will face polls. The government had, last week, moved the apex court requesting a four-month extension of the August 31 deadline to hold the civic polls in Bengaluru.

All elections

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, hailing the apex court relief, said the government was committed to holding not only the elections to Bengaluru’s corporations but also to all local bodies in the state. Elections to zilla, taluk and gram panchayats are also pending, he added.

“At no cost will the government request another postponement,” the CM said, attributing the present delay to the ongoing SIR. “My duty is to see youngsters get an opportunity to participate in democratic institutions like corporations and panchayats,” he added.

The government has been postponing elections to Bengaluru’s erstwhile civic body BBMP on one pretext or another after the five-year term of the elected council ended in September 2020. Five corporations replaced the BBMP on September 2. They will together have 369 municipal wards.

Several Congress aspirants have applied for tickets with the prescribed application fee.