According to well-placed government sources, civic elections in the newly formed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are likely to be held by the middle of next year.
The cabinet, which met on Thursday, reportedly discussed the matter and tentatively agreed to propose April or May 2026 to the Election Commission to hold the polls, the source said. The GBA is currently working on a reservation list for 369 wards in five city corporations.
The state government has pledged to announce the reservation by December 15 and is expected to do so. After formally inaugurating the GBA on 2 September, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that a delimitation committee headed by the GBA Chief Commissioner would complete the delimitation and reservation process by 30 November.
However, a GBA source said the process was delayed due to the Social and Education Survey and other important works. The booking process is now in final stage and will be completed soon.
If all goes according to plan, the civic polls, already delayed by five years, will finally take place in 2026. Another GBA source said the panchayat polls will have to be conducted first, followed by elections to the newly created five corporations.
Meanwhile, political parties have started preparing for polls and are looking for suitable candidates.
Earlier, a senior Congress leader told The Hindu that selecting candidates would be a herculean task this time as new wards have been formed and new faces have emerged in the last few years. With elections around the corner, civic issues in Bengaluru became a hot topic last month with many party leaders launching various campaigns against ongoing and proposed projects in the city.
Published – 12 Dec 2025 21:34 IST
