States » SouthPosted at: Sep 25 2026 3:57PM


Karnataka local body poll: Machinery prep begins, Dec polls likely

Bengaluru, Sep 25 (UNI) Karnataka's long-pending rural local body elections have moved closer to the starting line, with the State Election Commission stepping up logistical preparations and signalling that the poll process could gather pace in the coming weeks.
The Commission has begun a detailed assessment of the machinery required to conduct elections to gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats, including polling stations and ballot boxes.
A crucial video conference has been scheduled for September 29 with Additional Deputy Commissioners and Tahsildars from the Belagavi and Kalaburagi divisions. Officials have been instructed to verify polling stations, furnish district-wise details of ballot boxes and calculate the additional requirement, if any.
The condition of existing ballot boxes will also be reviewed, with officials asked to identify boxes requiring repairs and initiate necessary action.
The preparations assume significance as elections to zilla and taluk panchayats have remained pending for several years, while the five-year tenure of gram panchayats elected in December 2020 has expired in a large number of cases.
The state has around 5,950 gram panchayats. The government has completed the reservation exercise and ward delimitation required for holding the local body polls, according to the report.
With the administrative groundwork now advancing to the equipment and polling-station level, attention has shifted to when the State Election Commission will formally set the election process in motion.
The Commission is expected to announce the schedule in October, with polling possibly being held in December. The exact dates, however, will be decided and notified by the State Election Commission.
The impending polls have also begun to figure prominently in the political strategy of the ruling Congress. At a recent Congress Legislature Party meeting, MLAs were reportedly directed to step up organisational work and focus on development activities in their constituencies ahead of the local body elections.
The government is also reported to have discussed providing Rs 1 crore to each gram panchayat for rural road development.
The convergence of election machinery preparations and political mobilisation has brought Karnataka's overdue local body polls firmly into focus, setting the stage for a major rural electoral exercise later this year.
UNI BDN
Tags: #Karnataka local body poll: Machinery prep begins# Dec polls likely
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