In an indication that the State government will soon hold civic polls in Bengaluru, the ruling Congress has formed a committee of all Congress MLAs, MLCs, and defeated candidates in Assembly and Parliamentary polls in the city to prepare the party for civic polls. This comes days after the party put a Minister in charge of each of the five corporations in the city.
Taking cue, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have upped their ante, criticising the ruling Congress of making Bengaluru “a mess” and arguing none of the promised big projects had indeed taken off. They have been opposing the multiple corporation set-up, and the BJP has announced that it will move the court against the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024.
Elections early next year?
Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar, also the Congress party chief in the State, has repeatedly asked his party workers to prepare for the civic polls. He recently said that the delimitation of wards will be notified by November 1, and the reservation matrix by November 30, and after that, it will be up to the State Election Commission to schedule elections in Bengaluru.
While the State government has committed before the court to holding civic polls by the end of this year, multiple sources in the party and the government said that elections were likely in early 2026 and unlikely before that.
This September 20 will mark five years, a full term, with the city not having an elected council. The tenure of the last council ended on September 20, 2020, and the city has since then been under administrator rule.
Congress campaign
In the run-up to civic polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently granted over ₹1,000 crore for road repair and other developmental works in the city. A majority of this has been earmarked for Assembly constituencies represented by the Congress.
Despite the ongoing monsoon, the ruling party has ensured that several civic works, like re-asphalting of roads, whitetopping of roads, cleaning of shoulder drains, Storm Water Drain (SWD), and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) works, are being carried out. Cleanliness drives, frequent stormwater drain clearances, whitetopping works, and footpath improvements are under way. Mr. Shivakumar recently stressed filling potholes and finding long-term solutions.
The government launched several key initiatives recently – a new governance set-up for the city, the party has offered, and several recent initiatives like e-Khata, exemption of occupancy certificates, and the conversion of B-khata lands into A-khata – keeping the polls in mind.
Action plan
N.A. Haris, Congress leader and MLA for Shanthinagar, told The Hindu that the party has already drawn up a plan of preliminary tasks. “Primarily, a large number of voters’ names have been deleted from the rolls, and we must ensure they are added back. These deletions were deliberate, so restoring them is a priority,” he said.
He added that general preparations are under way, such as identifying party workers and potential leaders, which will gather pace in the coming months.
BJP and JDS aggressive campaign
On their part, the BJP and JD(S) have launched an aggressive campaign against the ruling party, accusing Congress of doing “precious little” to Bengaluru. “None of the big-ticket projects that Mr. Shivakumar champions, claiming that the Congress government has been spearheading projects worth over ₹1 lakh crore for Bengaluru, have taken off yet. On the ground, there is confusion over the multiple corporations set up, and we think there is no consensus among the people on this, which will help us,” said a senior BJP leader.
JDS has begun targeting Congress in Bengaluru. At a recent convention in Yeshwantpur, Nikhil Kumaraswamy termed the scheme to convert B-Khata properties to A-Khata as a “money-making scam” at the cost of middle-class families and said the government had imposed a cess on garbage as well.
Published – September 14, 2025 09:26 pm IST
