The government has finally published the ward-wise reservation for all 369 wards across Bengaluru's five municipal corporations, culminating a nearly six-month-long exercise prerequisite for holding the much-delayed civic body polls.
Eighty-four wards have undergone changes in reservation quota, a critical part of the elections that can make or break the political future of candidates aspiring to contest the upcoming polls.
The wards have been reserved across five different categories: General, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Backward Class 'A', and Backward Class 'B'. About 50% of the total wards have been reserved for women.
GBA to issue QR-coded ID cards to thousands of street vendors in BengaluruA comparison of the draft notification released on January 8 and the final notification issued on March 7 shows that the Bengaluru West Corporation recorded the highest number of changes with with 33 wards, followed by Bengaluru North (18 wards), Bengaluru South (14 wards), Bengaluru East (12 wards) and Bengaluru Central (7 wards).
An analysis of the 369 wards across shows that constituencies represented by legislators of the opposition parties especially Malleswaram, Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli have undergone more changes in reservation quota than the Assembly segments represented by the ruling party. There are no changes in Shanthinagar, BTM Layout or Shivajinagar.
A review committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department was tasked with analysing the suggestions and objections the government received for the draft notification. The committee also carried the mandate of ensuring that the overall quota follows the guidelines prescribed by the government.
With the publication of ward-wise reservation lists, the government has completed all the tasks required for holding the civic body elections, which are due since September 2020. Now, the responsibility of holding the elections will entirely depend on the State Election Commission (SEC), which is scheduled to publish the final electoral rolls on April 6. The SEC has committed to holding the elections by June-end.
The elections to the civic body were initially delayed when the BJP was in power. After the Congress party came to power, it enacted the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, which gave birth to five corporations in place of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). In December 2025, the government carved out 369 wards while the external boundary of the civic body remained the same.