SIR Effect: Bengaluru's Voter Count Set to Halve, Pushing Government to Merge Five GBA Corporations into Two

Bengaluru, August 2: When the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was dissolved and replaced by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for the all-round development of the city, five new city municipal corporations were established under its umbrella. It has now been nearly a year since that restructuring. However, the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has set off fresh political pressure on the government to reduce the number of those corporations.

Why Five Corporations?

Of the 1.03 crore voters currently registered in Bengaluru, approximately 50 lakh are expected to be struck off the rolls as a result of the SIR process. That prospect has prompted a pointed question: if the voter base is going to shrink so drastically, does the city really need five separate municipal corporations to govern the remaining population?

Viability Already in Doubt

Even before the SIR shake-up, some of the five corporations were struggling to stay viable. Several have found it difficult just to meet day-to-day operational costs — paying salaries to officers and staff and covering basic administrative expenses. Given this financial strain, voices from within the ruling party as well as the opposition have begun calling for a consolidation down to just two corporations.

Merger Debate Returns to Centre Stage

Debate over the wisdom of five separate city bodies has never fully died down since GBA was formed. The SIR's impact on voter numbers has now brought the merger question back into sharp focus. Whether the government will act to rationalise the structure — and how it plans to balance the financial burden in the meantime — remains to be seen.