Corporation poll buzz begins in Bengaluru as aspirants step up outreach ahead of 2026 elections

BENGALURU: Corporation election fever has begun. Aspirants are becoming super active, trying to woo voters well ahead of the elections to the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), which are likely to be held in January or February. Aspirants and their followers are putting up posters, visiting public places, and attending festivals like Ganesha Chaturthi and St. Marys feast. Having grown tired of delays in holding elections, aspirants now believe the polls will happen on time. They are making all out efforts to get the party ticket. Some of the aspirants and lost candidates in Assembly elections have already taken charge as Booth Level Agents and coordinating with Booth Level Officers and Anganwadi Teachers, to check voters list to ensure that bogus and fictitious voters are identified and weeded out. These activities have begun over the last two months, and all this is a signal to prepare for elections to the local body. There will not be any delay, and elections for all five corporations under the GBA are likely to happen between January to March 2026, said S Anand, former corporator who lost Assembly election from CV Raman Nagar constituency. He said that the work on checking the voters list is happening in all 224 booths of the assembly segment. Raghu, an aspiring candidate from Vasanth Nagar in Shivajinagar constituency, said he has been working closely with ward officials in attending to issues related to civic works in the ward, and also coordinated with the MLA to resolve issues that were out of the purview of civic bodies. Former corporator and defeated BJP candidate from Shanthinagar constituency, Shiva Kumar, said his ward, Shathala Nagar, will always be a BJP fort as ward sabhas have been held and daily rounds are being intensified. A lot of workers approached for invites during Ganesha Chaturthi and also for St. Marys feast, and to ensure the party name is not damaged, no rowdy-sheetes are allowed in sabhas, said Shiva Kumar. Siddalingaiah, a former HAL corporator, expressed disappointment with the upcoming polls due to the division of the BBMP. We have been waiting to hold a council for the last five years. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council ended on September 10, 2020, and today (Wednesday) is the fifth year without an elected body but nothing has happened. On top of it, now the corporation is divided into smaller units. My corporation limit is East Bengaluru and limited only to KR Puram and Mahadevapura assemblies, and there is not much pride, he said adding he has been preparing for the election for the last five years and reaching out to voters during all the festivals. CM tells lawmakers to lay groundwork for GBA polls Elections to the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority, allocation of funds to MLAs and the pothole menace were the major topics discussed in the meeting held by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with his party legislators from Bengaluru on Wednesday. The legislators were first given a presentation by Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath, who explained the changes brought about with the transformation of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike into the Greater Bengaluru Authority. In the meeting at Vidhana Soudha, which lasted for around two hours, the legislators were shown how many wards were in each assembly constituency under the BBMP and how many would come up now in the GBA. Siddaramaiah and DCM D K Shivakumar told the legislators, including MLCs, to prepare the ground for the elections. In response to the legislators complaints of potholes, the CM issued directions to officials to fill potholes on top priority and complete all ongoing road works at the earliest.