Final GBA reservation list released: Women still short of 50% representation in 369 wards

Urban Development Department announces the final reservation list for wards across five Bengaluru city corporations, but women receive 176 seats, nine short of the 50% reservation demand.

The final ward reservation list for the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has been officially released by the Urban Development Department, covering wards across five city corporations in Bengaluru. While the announcement has set the stage for the upcoming civic elections, the allocation of seats for women has sparked discussion as it falls short of the expected 50 percent reservation.

According to the final list, 369 wards have been reserved across the five city corporations. Out of these, 176 wards have been reserved for women candidates. However, this number does not reach the 50 percent reservation mark, which many had demanded during the consultation stage.

If the 50 percent quota had been implemented, at least 185 wards should have been reserved for women out of the total 369 wards. This means nine additional wards would have needed to be allocated to women for the reservation to reach the 50 percent mark.

The issue had already attracted attention earlier when the draft reservation list was released. At that time, several stakeholders had submitted objections and suggestions, specifically demanding that women be given 50 percent reservation in the civic body. Despite those demands, the final reservation list continues to allocate only 176 wards to women, leaving the demand partially unmet.

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The reservation distribution has been announced for each of the five municipal corporations under the GBA structure.

In the Bengaluru South City Corporation, which has 72 wards in total, the reservation distribution includes 7 wards for Scheduled Castes (SC), 1 ward for Scheduled Tribes (ST), 19 wards for Backward Class A (BCA) and 5 wards for Backward Class B (BCB). The General category accounts for 40 wards, while 34 wards are reserved for women.

The Bengaluru North City Corporation also consists of 72 wards. Among them, 9 wards are reserved for SC, 2 for ST, 19 for BCA, and 5 for BCB. In addition, 37 wards fall under the General category, and 34 wards are reserved for women.

The largest number of wards is in the Bengaluru West City Corporation, which has 112 wards. The distribution here includes 9 SC wards, 2 ST wards, 30 BCA wards, and 7 BCB wards. Meanwhile, 64 wards fall under the General category, and 55 wards have been reserved for women.

In the Bengaluru East City Corporation, there are 50 wards in total. The reservation breakdown includes 7 wards for SC, 1 ward for ST, 14 wards for BCA, and 3 wards for BCB. The General category covers 25 wards, while 23 wards are reserved for women.

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Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Central City Corporation has 63 wards. Of these, 11 wards are reserved for SC, 1 for ST, 15 for BCA, and 4 for BCB. The General category includes 32 wards, and 30 wards have been reserved for women.

Although the final reservation list has now been published, the debate around women’s representation continues, as the total number of wards reserved for women remains below the 50 percent benchmark suggested during the draft stage.