Karnataka to hold GBA elections by December, says CM Shivakumar

New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) Following the Supreme Court's order, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said the state government is committed to holding elections to the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) by December. The Supreme Court had initially directed that the GBA elections be completed by June 30. This was subsequently extended to August 31 after the state government cited administrative constraints and sought more time. The apex court on Friday further extended the deadline to the end of December in view of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "We will complete all local body elections by December," Shivakumar told reporters in the national capital. He added that the government aims to complete elections to all local bodies, including zilla, taluk and gram panchayats, and municipal corporations, by the end of this year. The polls are to be held for the five city corporations created under the GBA framework, which replaced the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) structure as part of Bengaluru's civic governance overhaul. The new system envisages decentralised administration through five corporations covering 369 wards across the city. Minister for Greater Bengaluru Development Krishna Byre Gowda said conducting the polls while the SIR exercise is still on would undermine both processes. He said that with two separate voters' lists likely to exist by August 8 — the old list and the one emerging from the SIR — going ahead with elections on the old rolls could throw up a discrepancy of nearly three lakh voters, which would be difficult to explain to the public and could raise questions over the credibility of the process. "It is clear to us that if we conduct elections in parallel while the SIR is underway, neither the SIR nor the election will be held properly. It is not practically possible. "There will be two voters' lists on August 8. We are prepared for elections based on the old voters' list, but if there is a difference of about three lakh voters, how do we defend ourselves? How do we respond to public queries on the difference? This will raise doubts about the sanctity of the election process," Gowda said. He maintained that apart from this legal complication, there was no political motive behind the delay, and the government was fully prepared and committed to holding the elections. "We are prepared to hold elections. We will definitely hold them." He added that in Bengaluru, 60 per cent of forms had been distributed, following which digitisation and verification would take place. "If we do not do this sincerely, thousands of voters may lose their right to vote," he said, noting that objections would be raised after August 8, following which the final voters' list would be published. Gowda said this was among the key reasons the state sought more time from the Supreme Court, which accepted the request. "The voters' list for the GBA election is based on the old list, which does not match the new SIR list. There could be a difference of two to three lakh voters, and the public will question how elections can be held with such a discrepancy," he said. "It has been many years since elections were held in Bengaluru, and there has been a delay; that is true. Elections should be held soon," the minister said. He said Chief Minister Shivakumar has clearly said elections should be held. "For that, the SIR process must be completed first, and based on the fresh voters' list, elections will follow," Gowda added. PTI LUX LUX KSS KSS