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Modi hails BJP win in Bengaluru civic polls

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Narendra_Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the BJP’s winning show in the Bengaluru civic polls, saying people’s faith in his party “is humbling and gladdening”.

“People’s continuous faith in the BJP is humbling and gladdening,” Modi tweeted as results showed the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Congress in the election.

“We are fully committed to fulfilling (the) aspirations of 125 crore Indians,” he said.

The prime minister said after similar civic polls wins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Bengaluru results “complete a hat-trick of wins for the BJP”.

“This is a win for politics of development and good governance.

“Thank you Bengaluru! My gratitude to (the) people and congratulations to Karnataka BJP leaders and workers for the great election results,” he added.

(Agencies)

BJP all set to regain power in Bengaluru, big setback for Congress

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bjp

Benagluru: As the BJP is all set to grab power in BBMP after winning 100 seats, the ruling Congress suffer their biggest setback after the 2013 elections.

Siddaramaiah has called for an emergency meeting of his close aids to discuss the situation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won 100 seats, the Congress is in 75 and the JD( S) in 14 in the 198-member council of the greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation. The final results are expected to be out by 2pm.

KPCC President, G Parameswar said that the Congress party accepts the people’s mandate. “We had approached the people with the blue print to develop Bengaluru city, but people has rejected Congress. This is not our party’s defeat as we are close to the victory line,” he added.

BJP chief Amit Shah tweeted, “I congratulate our karyakartas for victory in Bengaluru civic polls & also thank people of Bengaluru for showing faith in BJP”

The century-old BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100.

Delimitation of the wards on the basis of the 2011 population census with 50 percent of them reserved for women have forced political parties to field wives or relatives of former corporators as contestants in many wards.

In all, 1,120 candidates, including 197, 198 and 187 from BJP, Congress and JD-S respectively, a dozen from regional outfits like Vatala Chaluvali Paksha, AIADMK and Socialist Democratic Party of India and 399 Independents, including many rebels contested in the bitterly fought civic election.

In the previous five-year term (2010-2015), the BJP ruled the BBMP for the first time by winning in 116 wards, as against 62 wards by the Congress, 14 by JD-S and eight by Independents.

(IANS)

Polling underway in BBMP polls; Only 11% voters turn up till noon

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BBMP poll

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) election, to elect a new council of corporators to govern the City for the next five years, is underway.

According to media reports, only 11% of voters have turned up to cast their vote till noon. Around 7,33,645 denizens have cast their vote so far, as per reports.

Till 9:30 am, only 4.5 percent of voters had turned up for casting their vote.

Voting has been delayed at several wards due to malfunctioning of the EVMs. The polling, which started at 7 am, will go on till 5 pm today.

As many as 197 corporators of the total 198 to represent that many wards, need to be elected. A BJP nominee has already been declared elected unopposed from Hongasandra ward. There are 1,120 contestants in the fray. In all, 17 parties have fielded 721 candidates and the remaining 399 are contesting as Independents.

It is to be seen whether the citizens will come out and vote in large numbers in this election. Voter turnout in the last election held in 2010 was just 44 per cent. The total electorate is 73.88 lakh.

The Congress party, which is holding the reins of the State had fielded candidates in all the wards. However, nomination of one of the candidates was rejected helping the BJP to win unopposed. The BJP, which was in power in the BBMP council for the last five years, have fielded candidates for all the wards. The JD(S) has not fielded candidates for 10 wards.

Electronic voting machines will be in use. Voters should be enrolled in the electoral rolls and produce any of the 22 government-issued cards at polling booths as identity proof to vote. Voter identity cards, known as EPIC, is not mandatory.

BBMP officials on poll duty and political parties have distributed voter slip indicating the polling booth of the individual voter in each ward.
Even those who have not received the slip may vote, provided they produce the government approved ID cards.

The indelible ink mark, also known as voter’s ink, will be marked on the left thumb.

If repolling is necessitated, it would be held on August 24 from 7 am to 5 pm. The counting of votes would be from 8 am on August 25.

Post 1990, the party in power in the state, had held the reins of administration in the Palike as well. It remains to be seen whether the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government would create history again. So far the Palike has not seen coalition governance. For Siddaramaiah, the stakes are high in these elections. He has been fighting to shed his ‘anti-Bengaluru’ image. He had become the face and voice of the party during the campaign.

In case of the BJP, MLA R Ashoka played a key role in selection of candidates. Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was the lone key campaigner for the JD(S).

(Agencies)

BBMP Polls: HC dismisses PIL Seeking ‘NOTA’ in EVMs

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NOTA-EVMs

Bengaluru: The High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation seeking direction to the State Election Commission for insertion of the ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the BBMP polls.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna dismissed the PIL on the ground of delay and latches as there were only a few days left for the poll.

However, the division bench observed that it was best known to the State Election Commission why no provision had been made for exercising NOTA in the EVMs, despite a direction from the apex court.

(Agencies)

I will not go back from Bengaluru: Asaduddin Owaisi

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Asaduddin Owaisi

Bengaluru: Ahead of the BBMP polls scheduled to be held on Saturday, Aug 22, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at the state Congress government for ‘deliberately’ trying to impose restrictions on his entry to Bengaluru city and impeaching his constitutional rights to free movement.

Owaisi said that as a member of parliament, he has constitutional rights to enter any place in the country, and Congress has no rights to stop him entering the city.

He said he and his party are here to stay, and will not go back from Bengaluru. He announced his party’s intention to participate in the next assembly elections in the state.

Earlier on Tuesday Justice A.S. Bopanna had issued the direction while rejecting AIMIM’s plea for a direction to the authorities to grant permission for its public rally that was scheduled for August 11 at Chota Maidan in Shivajinagar.

Karnataka government still for an apex court nod for BBMP poll postponement

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BBMP poll

Bengaluru: The state’s Congress government is still trying to postpone the BBMP Election. The calendar has been announced, but the government has not given up on getting the August 22nd election postponed.

Today, the apex court will be hearing a petition filed by the government that seeks explicit clarity on the deadline for holding elections, following its July 3 order extending polls by eight weeks.

Sources say the government will seek more time on the premise that it requires time to implement the recommendation of the BBMP restructuring committee. The committee recommended splitting the city into five corporations for better municipal administration.

Committee member V Ravichandar and Namma Bengaluru Foundation agreed that the bad move of postponing elections had the good motive of fixing the city’s crumbling governance.”The report is virtually useless if we don’t get time to implement its recommendations,” the minister said.

“I support the government wanting to postpone elections,” said TV Mohandas Pai, chairperson of Manipal Global Education Services. “For the past five years, we didn’t have a democratic institution. A mafia had captured the city. All this has to stop by having multiple corporations to help Bengaluru, in place of a single, monolithic institution like the BBMP.”

Namma Bengaluru CEO Sridhar Pabbisetty is firm on timely electoral process. “It is very important that we acknowledge that timely elections should have happened, and the derailment of elections has been schemed under various pretexts. To invoke the doctrine of mixed motives now would make the government’s earlier motives questionable,” he argued.

(Agencies)

SC gives Karnataka eight more weeks for Bengaluru civic polls

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Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Karnataka government and the State Election Commission eight more weeks to hold the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palika (BBMP) polls, declining the state’s plea for more time for delimitation of wards on the basis of 2011 Census.

A bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy said it may give more time for the conduct of the election but would not change a word from its May 5 order.

The court’s assertion came as a battery of lawyers representing the Karnataka government and other parties sought modification of the May 5 order directing the State Election Commission to complete the election process within three months by August 5.

The government requested postponement of the polls to help complete the delimitation exercise.

The eight weeks allowed on Friday are in addition to the three months the apex court gave by the May 5 order, which recorded the Karnataka government’s submission that it had “no objection if the election for the BBMP is held”.

The parties opposing the Karnataka government plea for postponement of the polls recalled the submission it made during the earlier hearing.

(Agencies)

BBMP polls must be conducted after trifurcation process: Siddaramaiah

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BBMP-BUILDING

Bengaluru: “The government is planning to move the Supreme Court on holding the BBMP elections”, confirmed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday June 28.

Addressing an event at the Maratha Bhavan the CM said, “We are mulling over approaching the Supreme Court over the High Court’s directive to hold the BBMP elections before August 5. I feel that the elections should be held after the trifurcation process of the local body is complete”, he added.

On May 5, the High Court had said that the BBMP elections should be held within three months (by August 5). Last week, the State Election Commission announced that the elections will be held on July 28, a week before the last date.

The model code of conduct is already in force and will remain till August 1.

(Agencies)

HC orders Karnataka goverment, EC to conduct BBMP polls by Aug 5

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karnataka-high-court

Bengaluru: The High Court has ordered the state government and the Election Commission to conduct elections to the BBMP by August 5, recently. The court also slammed the government for filing an interlocutory application (IA) in a bid to delay the elections.

Justice B V Nagarathna said, “All IAs, except one filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, are dismissed with costs, as these applications are not only an abuse of the process of this court, but contrary to the principle of the finality of litigation, and have taken up considerable time of this court”, in the given judgment.

She directed the authorities to comply with the spirit of a High Court order dated March 30, 2015, and an order of the Supreme Court dated May 5, 2015, by taking steps to hold elections.

The state government, Karnataka State Commission for SC/STs and others had filed impleading applications without any further prayers. This is not only frivolous, but an instance of the court being taken for granted, the judge said.

“The IA filed by state is dismissed with a cost of 10,000, payable to each petitioner. The applications filed by the other applicants are dismissed with a cost of 1,000, payable by each of the applicants to each petitioner, on every application filed by them, other than the Namma Bengaluru Foundation,” the order said.

Further the state Election Commission had objected to the plea, saying it would be held responsible if the elections were not held in time.

(Agencies)

SC orders Bengaluru civic body polls in three months

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BBMP-BUILDING

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka government to conduct elections to the Bengaluru civic body within three months.

Setting aside the Karnataka High Court’s April 24 ruling, which ordered that the civic polls be held in six months (by October), the apex court told the state election commission to conduct elections in 198 civic wards across the city by July 18, as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was superseded on April 18, four days before its five-year term was to lapse.

The top court’s ruling came on a bunch of petitions filed by the state election commission, NGO Namma Bengaluru Foundation, two former BJP corporators C.K. Ramamurthy and B. Somashekar and Rajya Sabha independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“The state government was using both its trifurcation proposal and dissolution of the civic body as a brazen excuse to delay the elections by six months,” Chandrasekhar said in a statement in Bengaluru.

The legislative assembly on April 20 passed by voice vote a bill to amend the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 2015 to bifurcate or trifurcate the BBMP.

Terming the apex court order a victory for democracy and the nine million denizens of Bengaluru, Chandrasekhar said the state government’s attempt to split the BBMP and delay its polls was against the constitutional provision of Article 243-U that mandates urban local bodies to conduct elections every five years.

The state government also assured the apex court of not splitting the BBMP till elections were held in the next three months.

The amended bill was, however, referred to a select committee of the state legislative council (upper house) by its chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy on April 27 as demanded by the opposition BJP and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) members.

The BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100 earlier.

(With inputs from IANS)

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