Government refutes claims of mass nomination bid for Greater Bengaluru Authority corporations, says no plans to delay polls | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: The urban development department has strongly refuted allegations that the state govt is planning to appoint over 650-700 nominated members to city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA). It said such claims are “baseless, misleading and founded on a misreading” of the proposed legal amendments.In a detailed clarification, the department said recent criticism surrounding the Greater Bengaluru Governance (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, tabled in the legislative assembly on Dec 11, created public confusion. The department emphasised that the amendments neither undermine constitutional principles nor delay civic elections in the five newly-constituted city corporations of GBA.At the centre of the controversy is the proposed amendment to section 30 of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act. Critics alleged that the provision enables the govt to indefinitely nominate hundreds of members to city corporations, thereby bypassing elections.Rejecting the interpretation, the department said the amendment is meant only to address a temporary governance vacuum that arises when new areas are merged into the Greater Bengaluru limits.Under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the govt is empowered to periodically alter the territorial limits of GBA by including adjoining local bodies. However, when such areas are newly added, they remain without elected representations until ward re-delimitation and elections are completed. The absence of representation, officials said, could hamper administration and development in these areas.To address this interim gap, the amendment proposes the nomination of residents from the newly-added areas at the rate of at least one member per 20,000 population, as additional members of the city corporation concerned. The department clarified that these nominated members will not have voting rights in the council and will serve only until elections are conducted for those areas.The department pointed out that similar provisions exist in the law. Section 360(d) of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964, allows the govt to nominate an additional councillor when a panchayat area is merged with a municipal council, until the council is reconstituted through elections.To ensure that nominated members do not continue indefinitely, the govt has also proposed amendments to Sections 29 and 33 of the Act. These amendments mandate that ward re-delimitation for newly-added areas must be completed within three months, and elections must be held within six months of the date of inclusion. Any elected representatives chosen through such elections will hold office only for the remainder of the corporation’s term.Crucially, the department stressed that these provisions do not apply to the five city corporations that have already been constituted under GBA. The govt has, through notifications issued on Sept 2, formally defined the boundaries of these five corporations. This was followed by notifications dated Nov 19 and Dec 1, completing the re-delimitation of 369 wards across the five corporations.“Since ward re-delimitation has already been completed for all 369 wards, there is no scope or provision to nominate members for these wards. Elections will be conducted and elected representatives will be chosen,” the department clarified.Underlining its preparedness, the department noted that it notified the Greater Bengaluru Governance (Elections) Rules, 2025 on Sept 1 and the Greater Bengaluru Governance (Voters’ Registration) Rules, 2025 on Sept 15. The State Election Commission has also begun the process of preparing ward-wise electoral rolls and fixed a programme for conducting general elections to the five city corporations.