Supreme Court defers BBMP poll by 8 weeks

BENGALURU: In a major breather to the state government, the Supreme Court on Friday granted eight weeks to hold the BBMP elections. Earlier, following a Karnataka High Court direction, the State Election Commission (SEC) on June 25 announced the calendar of events fixing the BBMP election date for July 28. With the elections postponed, the SEC will now have to issue a fresh notification fixing the new election date and announce a new calendar of events.

The Supreme Court, however, rejected the state government’s appeal for fixing the delimitation and reservation matrix based on the 2011 census. The government argued that members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) are suffering because of the present delimitation, which is based on the 2001 census, and their communities are not getting proper representation. The delimitation that has been adopted now does not equally distribute voters among different wards. There is a need to provide reservation matrix based on the 2011 census, the government pleaded before the apex court.

Advocate Pramila Nesargi ridiculed the Supreme Court order, saying, “How can the court violate its own order? When the court has not given any direction on fresh delimitation and reservation, there is no logic in postponing the elections by eight weeks. It has been done only to please the Karnataka government.”

She said, “The Supreme Court has earlier ruled that once the calendar of events is announced, the election cannot be postponed. But, how can it defer the BBMP elections? We had faith in the Supreme Court, but it has been dashed with this order.”

Experts question Supreme Court order

The state government on Friday succeeded in getting an eight-week reprieve from the Supreme Court to hold the BBMP elections. The court, however, has asked the government not to alter the delimitation and reservation matrix and to stick to the earlier fixture.

Legal and urban experts, including State Election Commission advocate K.N. Phanindra, questioned the logic behind the Supreme Court's decision to postpone the elections without asking the government to change the delimitation and reservation matrix.

Mr Phanindra said that the court need not give eight weeks to hold the elections when the government has not been allowed to change the delimitation and reservation matrix. “We will know the exact dates to hold the elections after we receive the order copy” he said.

Urban expert and Lok Satta state president Ashwin Mahesh said, “If delimitation and fresh reservation matrix are not going to be part of the eight-week extension, where was the need for this order? It appears that the state government will go ahead with its plans scrap the BBMP. A bill will be passed in the session and there will be no more a body called BBMP to hold the elections. The question of BBMP polls becomes moot,”  he said.

Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that the state government is not confident of facing the BBMP polls at present. “It has succeeded in buying time from the Supreme Court. The Congress government will use the eight-week breather to divert money for development works in Bengaluru and to induce urban voters.”

Congress not scared of polls: Law Minister

Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra, reacting to the Supreme Court decision to postpone the elections by eight week, said on Friday, “We will try to hold elections within that time frame”. He said, "The Congress is ready for elections. Our party has a history of 125 years and we will never fear elections.”

The state government's priority is delimitation and to conduct elections on the basis of the 2011 census, he said. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar said that the Congress is scared of defeat and was trying to postpone elections by “hook or crook”. He, however, said, "It is a Supreme Court verdict and it is binding on all. Whatever be the verdict we will have to accept it and fight the election."