450 corporators likely to shape city politics under Greater Bengaluru Authority

Final notification of Greater Bengaluru Authority on Tuesday will reshape city’s civic landscape with five corporations, 450 corporators, and a massive political showdown.

The Karnataka government is set to issue the final notification for the formation of five new municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Tuesday, marking one of the most significant overhauls of the city’s civic governance in decades. With the public objection period ending Saturday, the move is expected to reshape Bengaluru’s political and administrative framework while also opening the floodgates for new entrants into politics.

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Once notified, the restructuring will create 450 corporators across the city, with each corporation averaging 90 wards. Bengaluru West will be the largest with 117 wards, while Bengaluru East will have just 67, the least. Analysts predict that the civic elections could see over 1,350 candidates from Congress, BJP, and JD(S) alone — with the BJP-JD(S) alliance likely to contest separately. Alongside these, smaller parties and thousands of independents are expected to join, making this one of the biggest civic contests in the state’s history.

For many, the development is an opportunity. “Bengaluru city will be a great launch pad for a new breed of politicians,” said Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, who chaired the joint legislative committee that vetted the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill. He added that the city’s youth, if elected, could go on to shape state politics as future MLAs and MPs.

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The relatively low entry barrier in civic polls is a big draw. Each ward has about 30,000 voters, making elections less financially demanding than assembly or parliamentary contests. However, parties face tough candidate selection challenges given the mandated reservations — 50% for women, 27% for OBCs, and 24% for SCs/STs.

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Administratively, the creation of five corporations will require 1,580 new posts, including 979 engineers and several senior officers such as joint and additional commissioners. Salaries alone are projected to cost Rs 161 crore. “Each ward requires an assistant engineer, while an assembly segment needs two. Right now, about 50 of the existing 198 wards have no engineers,” said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, adding that a detailed plan is being worked out to address vacancies.

But not everyone is convinced. Opposition leaders fear political and bureaucratic turbulence if the rollout is mishandled. “This is being done in the guise of decentralisation, but the result will be centralisation with GBA taking over a supervisory role over the corporations,” argued CN Ashwath Narayan, BJP MLA and former deputy chief minister.

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