Govt will soon decide if you can elect mayor

Govt will soon decide if you can elect mayor
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: After announcing the state government’s inclination to hold the much-delayed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said here on Tuesday that a cabinet meeting on Friday would discuss modalities of the exercise. The modalities include the vexed delimitation of wards, tenure of mayor and implementation of Kasturirangan committee’s recommendations.
“The government will conduct elections to BBMP as per the high court’s order, which is before August. Any decision on the number of wards and delimitation exercise will be decided in the coming days,’’ Yeddyurappa told reporters.
However, the cabinet can only discuss the nitty-gritty of holding the polls. Issues pertaining to implementation of the Kasturirangan report, which recommends direct elections to the mayor’s post, will have to be debated and passed as amendments to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act in the legislature session, which is due in June.
Once the governor gives his assent to the amended Act, the State Election Commission steps into the picture to fix dates for holding the polls. The BBMP has been functioning without an elected body since November 2006. The government has been seeking time from the court which set deadlines and the final one to hold the polls is before August.
Going by the objections received by the government on draft copy on delimitation, there is greater demand for increase in number of wards.
When contacted, Yeddyurappa did not rule out the possibility of making changes in the delimitation exercise.