₹50,000 application fee: Congress invites applications from aspirants for 369 GBA wards from today

Bengaluru

Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that applications will be invited from aspirants wishing to contest the GBA elections, starting Monday.

Addressing a press conference at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, Shivakumar said that while the reservation matrix is yet to be finalised, applications are being sought to assess interest among aspirants in all 369 wards. “Even though reservations are not final, we want to know who is interested in contesting from the 369 wards,” he said.

He said the party has decided to collect a fee along with the application, which will be utilised for the party building fund. The application fee has been fixed at ₹50,000 for general category aspirants and ₹25,000 for women and candidates from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Applications can be submitted online, he added.

Responding to a query on whether the party’s agitation against alleged vote theft would continue, Shivakumar said the fight would go on to protect democracy. “We will establish a legal bank in every constituency by bringing together lawyers who support the party to guide our workers legally,” he said, adding that Congress had collected the highest number of signatures on the issue nationwide.

He said the public enthusiasm witnessed during Sunday’s protest was a precursor to the 2028 and 2029 elections and reflected the growing preparedness of party workers. Shivakumar also alleged that voter deletions had occurred in rural areas of Aland constituency using phone numbers from other States.

On questions about his meetings with party high command leaders, Shivakumar described them as cordial and routine, dismissing speculation about internal issues. He said he would respond to a notice from the Delhi Police on Monday and would inform the media about any further meetings thereafter.