Bengaluru: It looks like the BBMP polls will be held on schedule after all the attempts to defer it by the state’s Congress government. It suffered a series of setbacks in its attempts and decided that retreat is the best of form of offence.
This can be inferred from the two decisive steps it has initiated. First it has deferred its appeal against a single judge bench’s direction for holding elections by May 30 and later it submitted the final list of reservation to wards to the state election commission. The reservation list has already earned the ire of BJP.
Earlier the state government also failed to get get the nod of Governor Vajubai R Vala’s assent for its ordinance to trifurcate BBMP — an apparent move to defer the polls by six months and at the same time undermine the BJP’s domination over the palike.
”When everything is going against us, why get more strictures from court?,” said a senior minister defending the government’s move.
BJP’s prospects hurt by reservation list
As per the final list, several sitting members will not be able to contest the elections as about 90 wards have been reserved for women. The rest are highly tilted towards the Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and dalits) aspirants.
Bengaluru in-charge Minister B Ramalinga Reddy defended it saying the government was going by the rules that dictate an increase in the number of seats reserved for women to 50 per cent.
Sources said there is possibility that some BJP members approaching the court challenging the reservation list but that would directly help the cause of Congress. But legal experts say this wouldn’t benefit either the ruling party or the BJP because they all are bound by the high court directions to hold the polls by May 30.
State election commissioner P N Srinivasachari told reporters earlier that the commission had made arrangements all to stick to the high court deadline and were waiting for the reservation list. “Now that we have received the list we will soon announce the calendar of events,” he added.
Sources said the election commission may wait till the hearing of state government’s appeal in the high court posted for Wednesday before announcing the election dates.
