For five years, when the council was not elected, they were all inactive. But the prospect of civic elections in Bengaluru soon has brought them back into action.
“Many former councilors have started voter outreach programs through Rajyotsava and Sabarimala events, the flavor of the season. Distribution of books to students, ration, printing of calendars with names and photos of councilor candidates are the preferred ways to reach voters,” said NR Ramesh, former BJP councillor.
With the number of constituencies increasing from 198 – when elections were last held in 2015 – to the current 369 and two new political parties Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) contesting for the first time, there are hundreds of new contenders eager to enter the fray.
“Earlier we always faced the problem of disgruntled rebels. But with the number of wards almost doubling, we hope that everyone will get a chance and there will be no disaffection this time,” said Abdul Wajid, a former Congressman.
However, there is still uncertainty and confusion over the new constituencies, the reservation list and whether elections are even held in the coming months.
Reservation list
New departments and their boundaries set the bar again. But aspirants are still waiting for the departmental reservation list to finally choose the department in which they want to join. “Our candidates have already started working in their wards. But we have also told them to be ready to contest from neighboring wards if the reservation list throws a wrench in the wheel,” AAP’s Pruthvi Reddy said.
The state government had recently given an undertaking before the Supreme Court to announce the list of reservations by December 15.
Uncertainty around the election
Padmanabha Reddy, a former councilor from the BJP, said that even under the previous regime, wards were demarcated, the reservation list finalized but elections were not held. “We are not sure that there will be an election until it actually takes place,” he said.
This uncertainty permeates across party lines. “We hope the Supreme Court will compel the government to hold civic elections. But if someone challenges the constituency delimitation or the reservation list in court like last time, the elections would be further delayed. We have seen how such legal challenges were deliberately used to delay the elections,” said a senior city official.
“The Congress is not assured of a clear victory. In such a scenario, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is in charge of the party and Bengaluru, is unlikely to hold civic polls when he is contesting for the post of Chief Minister. An upset result in Bengaluru will also hit his chances,” said a BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
Meanwhile, all political parties including the ruling Congress have formed committees to oversee the civic polls in Bengaluru. BJP and JDS will contest in an alliance and flex and banners in the name of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have appeared in several areas, indicating a meeting of minds at the grassroots level.
Dissatisfaction
However, there seems to be discontent brewing in both the Congress and the BJP over who will emerge as the face and take the leadership of the party in this election. While BJP MLA for Yelahanka SR Vishwanath has openly expressed his disappointment at not being included in the party’s GBA committee, discontent is reportedly brewing in the Congress over Bengaluru MLAs and ministers being sidelined and Mr Shivakumar, not an MLA from the city, taking charge.
Published – 22 Nov 2025 19:28 IST
