By  Team Mangalorean Bangalore

Bangalore March 7: With the announcement of elections to the much delayed Brihath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) yesterday all political parties, including ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress and JD(S) are gearing up to put suitable candidates to establish their rein over the civic body.

According to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, RV Deshpande, party would finalize its candidates by March 14. He said the party had received fresh applications from aspiring candidates from 58 wards after their reservation was altered. The party’s previous list will hold good for the remaining 140 wards.

Mr Deshpande accused the state government of being disinclined to conduct the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike polls, as it "had not done any development work and wanted to continue looting the money from centrally sponsos red funds." Deshpande dismissed the Chief Minister’s claim that his government had spent Rs 6,000 crore for development of Bangalore in the last one year. He alleged that the state government’s contribution was a meagre Rs 325 crore, rest of the amount coming from JNNURM and Slum Development Funds.

The decks were cleared for holding elections to the 198-member BBMP for which calendar of events were announced by the Karnataka State Election Commission yesterday. The elections are being held following the directions of the Karnataka High Court which had set deadline to hold poll before March 20 this year.

Three former Mayors from the Congress had petitioned in the Karantaka High Court seeking to issue directions to the State Government to hold elections to BBMP. The issue was also taken to Supreme Court by the State Government seeking more time to conduct elections which was turned down by the apex court last month.

On Sunday, once again the former mayors PR Ramesh and M Ramachandrappa, along with a few Congress workers, staged a protest at the BBMP office and lodged a complaint with the state election commission after they found Palike officials in the accounts section, as also the special commissioner of the BBMP, working on a holiday.

They alleged that senior BBMP officials were fabricating documents to show that a vote-on-account was passed by the BBMP for releasing funds for various works and paying salaries. "When the code of conduct is in force, the administrator should seek approval for each and every budget allocation ... Furthermore, major decisions cannot be taken when the code of conduct is in force," PR Ramesh wrote in his complaint to the state election commission.

However, BBMP commissioner Bharat Lal Meena warned that if anybody interferes in official work, a complaint will be made. It can be recalled here that in January this year, BBMP officials were in the news for finalising tenders for city projects worth Rs3,400 crore at midnight.

Now, with the elections for BBMP announced the on-going session of the Karnataka Legislature, including Assembly and the Council, were also likely to be adjourned till the elections were over.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had presented his budget for the year 2010-11 on Friday last and the issue of adjourning the House till the elections to BBMP would be taken up after obtaining vote on account for three months.

The Chief Minister had said he would consult the Opposition parties on the issue of adjourning both the Houses of the Karnataka Legislature to facilitate political leaders to campaign in the BBMP elections.

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