The Karnataka government has taken a decisive step towards holding long-awaited civic elections in Bengaluru by issuing a comprehensive set of guidelines for determining ward-wise reservations. This move paves the way for elected urban local bodies in the metropolis after years of administrative oversight and transition.
Blueprint for Representation in a Restructured Bengaluru
The guidelines, officially notified on Friday, follow the completion of the crucial ward delimitation process under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024. This Act, which came into effect on May 15, 2025, dismantled the monolithic Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and restructured it into five distinct city corporations: Bengaluru Central, East, West, North, and South, collectively encompassing 369 wards. The restructuring aims to foster decentralised and more responsive urban governance in India's rapidly expanding tech capital.
According to the government order, the demographic foundation for determining reservations will be the 2011 Census population data. The number of wards to be reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in each of the five corporations will be directly proportional to their population share within that corporation's total population.
Navigating the Reservation Matrix: SC/ST, Backward Classes, and the 50% Cap
The order mandates that one-third of the total wards in each city corporation must be reserved for backward classes. However, the government has firmly reiterated the constitutional ceiling, stating that the total reservation across all categories cannot exceed 50%. The order provides a clear mechanism for compliance: "If the combined reservation for SCs, STs, and backward classes exceeds this limit, the backward class quota will be proportionately reduced to comply with the cap."
Within the backward class reservation, the allocation is further subdivided: 80% of these seats will go to Category A and the remaining 20% to Category B, as stipulated by the Act.
A Strong Push for Gender Parity and Transparent Allocation
In a significant push for inclusive governance, women's reservation has been extended across all categories without exception. Half of the seats reserved for SC, ST, backward classes (both A and B), and even the unreserved general category will be earmarked for women. A specific condition applies: if the number of seats in a category is an odd number, the remaining single seat will not be reserved for women.
The government has also laid down a transparent, data-driven method for identifying which specific wards will be reserved for SC and ST candidates. Separate lists of wards will be prepared for each category, ranked in descending order based on the SC and ST population. Reservations will then be allotted by alternately picking from the top of the SC and ST lists until the required number of wards is filled.
After reservations for SC, ST, and backward classes (A & B) are finalised, the remaining wards will be classified as general seats. Fifty percent of these general wards will also be reserved for women, subject to the same odd-number condition.
Looking ahead, the government has directed that reserved wards be rotated in future elections to prevent the same reservation from being repeated in the same ward indefinitely. This rotation policy will apply to SC, ST, backward class, and women's reservations, but not to general seats.
Path Cleared for Civic Polls
State officials have indicated that the issuance of these reservation guidelines removes a critical procedural bottleneck. With ward boundaries already finalised, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is now expected to prepare and notify the ward-wise reservation lists. This will allow the State Election Commission to move forward with announcing the much-anticipated election schedule, bringing Bengaluru closer to having its own elected civic leadership after a prolonged hiatus.
