BNP slams government over ‘flawed’ ward delimitation in Bengaluru

Bengaluru Nava Nirmana Party (BNP) has criticised the State government’s ward delimitation process for the newly-formed five corporations, calling it flawed and unscientific.

The government had argued that splitting the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into five corporations would bring governance closer to citizens. However, BNP noted that the number of wards has been capped at around 368, leaving each ward too large to manage effectively. For a city of nearly 1.5 crore residents, BNP has demanded at least 500 wards, with about 30,000 residents and 20,000 voters per ward, a recommendation also made by the Brand Bengaluru Committee, according to BNP.

“This delimitation exercise clearly shows that governance was never the intent,” said Srikanth Narasimhan, BNP’s founder and general secretary. “By refusing to create smaller, more manageable wards, the government has undermined the very purpose of forming five corporations.”

The party also flagged inconsistencies in population data used for the exercise. While East Bengaluru, including Mahadevapura and K.R. Puram, has witnessed the city’s fastest growth, the projection records used for delimitation show it growing by only 44.4% in the past 10 to 15 years, compared to 66.7% growth projected in Central Bengaluru. BNP leaders warned that such inaccuracies would leave rapidly growing regions underrepresented and worsen governance challenges.

Further, BNP accused the government of concealing the estimated 2023 population and updated voter counts. “Without this data in the public domain, citizens cannot meaningfully scrutinise or raise objections,” said Poongothai Paramasivam, BNP’s zonal leader for Gottigere.

BNP has demanded a re-examination of the process, an increase to 500 wards, and full transparency in population and voter data.

GBA release boundaries of new wards

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Thursday released the maps and boundaries of newly marked and revised wards under its jurisdiction. These cover wards falling within the limits of the five corporations of the GBA.  

Of the total 368 wards, 111, the highest, are in West Corporation, followed by 72 wards within South and North Corporation each, 63 wards in Central and 50 wards in East limits.