Election Commission is set to announce the election dates today, but insiders in the BJP say ministers don't want the poll to be held now
Election Commission is set to announce the election dates today, but insiders in the BJP say ministers don't want the poll to be held now
While the Election Commission (EC) is expected to announce calendar of events on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls today, the government is still looking to dodge the elections. As per a high court order, the EC has to announce the dates today and the poll process must be completed by December 30.
Election commissioner G R Chikmat told MiD DAY that he had called a press conference this evening to brief the media about the EC's position on conducting the polls. He was non-committal about announcing the timetable.
"Please attend the press conference and don't try to break tomorrow's news today," he said jokingly.
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LONG TIME, NO election: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara office. |
Wait till February?Sources in the Department of Urban Development said that although the government was mentally prepared for the polls, it was still working on the options to postpone it. The city's in-charge minister R Ashok is understood to have told his close aides that he would take the EC into confidence. "In all probability, the EC may say that it could not meet the deadline of December 30 and seek time till February," said the source.
But former mayor P R Ramesh, who is fighting a legal battle for the elections to take place on time, said, "The EC cannot postpone the polls this time. It has to abide by the court directions."
Ward reservation
While some senior BJP leaders are not happy with the ward reservations, former councillor V Muniraju has moved the court questioning it. Shobha Karandlaje, former minister and a close confidant of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, has caused heartburn for Muniraju by managing to get four wards reserved for women out of the five wards in Kengari, which falls in her constituency Yeswantpur. Muniraju is seen to be a strong competitor to Shobha. He was deprived of a BJP ticket to contest last year's Assembly polls because Yeddyurappa preferred Shobha.
Another petition contesting that handicaps had got a raw deal in the ward reservation is pending in the court.
Taking advantage of this confusion are BJP leaders like R Ashok and Katta Subramanya Naidu. Yeddyurappa is also said to side with these leaders. Analysts expect Chikmat to be favourable to Yeddyurappa.
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