Congress holds strategy meet over GBA polls, DKS says ‘new guarantees for Bengaluru’ on May 13

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday said the government will announce new guarantees for Bengaluru, and details will be shared on May 13.

On May 1, Mr. Shivakumar announced that “My Khata Drive” will be launched from May 16 and on every Saturday, Khata melas will be organised across the city. Whether he was referring to the same or a new “guarantee scheme” to be announced is not yet clear.

This announcement comes a day after Mr. Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, held a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Surjewala, in charge of party affairs in the State on Sunday. Mr. Shivakumar described it as a “political meeting”. 

The meeting discussed the legal proceedings over seeking a three-month extension to hold the GBA polls and also deliberated on election preparations if the Supreme Court does not extend the deadline and elections become inevitable by June 30. Mr. Shivakumar’s announcement of a “new guarantee scheme for Bengaluru” comes in the wake of this, sources said. 

While Mr. Siddaramaiah is keen on not delaying elections further, others, including Mr. Shivakumar, are said to be for a three-month extension. Many road work projects have come to a standstill over the non-availability of bitumen due to the West Asia crisis, and in such a situation, going to polls in June, just after the onset of the monsoon, will not augur well for the ruling party, sources said. Moreover, none of the parties has begun political activity on the ground, and a month wouldn’t be enough, MLAs cutting across party lines feel, sources said.

The vexed question of leadership change in the State is also expected to come up after the Congress high command decides on the Chief Ministership in Kerala. While Mr. Siddaramaiah’s faction has been batting for continuing him with a Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Shivakumar has been pressing to be made Chief Minister. This question will be further postponed if Bengaluru elections are now announced, and their results will have a bearing on Mr. Shivakumar’s claim for leadership, as he holds charge of both the party and Bengaluru, sources said.

A. S. Ponnanna, Legal Advisor to the Chief Minister, who was also part of the meeting, said that the legal proceedings pertaining to civic polls in Bengaluru were discussed. “It is difficult to hold civic polls by June 30 due to the National Census 2027 and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. We will convince the court of the situation and seek an extension of three months,” he said.