Bengaluru: According to the draft quota list isssued by the state governement on Saturuday, the Chamarajpet assembly segment in west Bengaluru which has seven BBMP wards will not have a single male candidate, so too Basavanagudi constituency.

The men are obviously disappointed and distressed. More than 30 male corporators, including several former mayors, will lose their seats in the upcoming polls.

This time, 50% of the seats have been reserved for women following an amendment to the KMC Act a few years ago and there are likely to be 99 women corporators if the elections are held as per the draft quota list in comparison to the 71 currently under the existing 33% quota.

Pointing out that some assembly segments will have only women corporators, some male leaders have termed the reservation notification unscientific and are even plan to move court against the list.

SK Nataraj, former mayor and corporator of Sarakki ward in Jayanagar assembly constituency, is facing the same problem. “The entire notification is full of errors. How can entire constituencies be reserved for women? This is clearly the handiwork of the government to ensure they win in wards where the BJP is strong. They are using reservation as a tool. Also, they want to postpone BBMP polls and if somebody goes to court questioning the reservation list, it will benefit them,” he said.

Mayor N Shanthakumari said though she welcomes the 50 per cent quota for women, it needs to be implemented in a proper manner. “The entire reservation exercise has been done in a hurried manner. There are problems with the reservation list as well,” she said.

Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee of CIVIC, an NGO, said the response from the male corporators was natural. “They should respect the Supreme Court order in this regard and facilitate women to have their fair share in politics. In fact, the state government’s role in fixing the reservation list for the corporation elections is an anomaly. Ideally, the Election Commission should do this.”