4 months on and Elected councilors haven’t taken oath, No mayor either

The results of the election to the Belagavi city corporation elections were declared on Sep 6, 2021, where the BJP won with a thumping majority of 35 seats in the 58 ward Belagavi Corporation. The same has also been published in the Official Gazette.

But since then, neither the elected councilors have taken the oath nor the first meeting of the council has been held.

As per the KMC act sec 42. President and vice-president.—(1) For every municipal council,

there shall be a president and a vice-president.

1 [(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2A) the Councillors shall at the first meeting of the Municipal Council after the general election and at a subsequent meeting held immediately before the expiry of term of office of the President and Vice-president chose two members from amongst the elected councillors to be respectively president and Vice-President and so often as there is a casual vacancy in the office of the President, or VicePresident shall choose another member from amongst the elected councillors to be the President or Vice-president, as the case may be.

47. Meeting.—(1) The municipal council shall ordinarily hold at least one meeting in every month for the transaction of business, 1 [which shall be called an ordinary general meeting

The Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of a city. But in reality, as in most municipal corporations in India, the Mayor is more often a figurehead.

A ‘one-year wonder intended only for ceremonial purposes’ is how the 2008 Kasturirangan Committee Report ‘Governance in Bengaluru Metropolitan Region and BBMP’ describes the Mayor. This is because Mayor’s powers are restricted by the law itself. According to the KMC (Karnataka Municipal Corporation) Act, 1976, Mayor only has a one-year term, and has no executive powers.

This was for the first time in the history of Belagavi that the election to the council was held on party symbols and the BJP has got a thumping majority but with no meeting held and no mayor elected as of now, the citizens are in a state of despair as to why this is so?

Today speaking to the media Satish Jarkhiholi said that Belagavi already has a Mayor as Abhay Patil and Anil Benake is the Deputy Mayor.