Conduct of Election of Councillors

Rule : 3. Conduct of Election:

(1) Election to the Corporation shall be conducted under the Superintendence, direction and control of the State Election commission.

(2) Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the State Election Commission, the Commissioner shall coordinate and supervise all work in connection with the conduct of election to the Corporation. The Commissioner shall also perform such other functions pertaining to the said elections as may be entrusted to him by the State Election commission.

(1) The electoral roll referred to in section 23 for each ward of the city shall be split into one or more parts taking into consideration the area within the ward wherein the voters to be included in each part reside, so that the voters to be included in each part belong to a named area, street or road within the ward and the electoral roll so split up in respect of the several parts of the ward will together constitute the electoral roll for such ward.

(2) A copy of such electoral role in respect of each ward shall also be kept open for inspection in the office of the corporation.


Rule : 11.Nomination of Candidates for election:

Any person may be nominated as a candidate to fill a seat in any of the wards of the city, if he is qualified to be chosen to fill that seat under the provisions of the Act.


Rule : 12.Presentation of Nomination Paper:

(1) On or before the date appointed under Rule 10 for making nominations, each candidate shall either in person or by his proposer, between the hours of eleven O'Clock in the forenoon and three O'Clock in the afternoon deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the public notice referred to in rule 10, a nomination paper duly completed in Form 2 and signed by the candidate and by an elector of the ward as proposer.


Provided that no nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer on a day which is public holiday;


(2) In a ward wherein;

(a) seat is reserved for the Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, or Scheduled Tribes, a candidate shall not be deemed to be qualified to be chosen to fill that seat unless his nomination paper contains a declaration by him specifying the particular class, caste or tribe of which he is a member and said class, Caste or tribe is a Backward Class, Scheduled Caste, or Scheduled Tribe,

(b) seat is reserved for women, the nomination paper shall contain a declaration that the candidate is a woman.

(2A) On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall satisfy himself that the names and electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination paper are the same as those entered in the electoral roll;

Provided that no misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the name of the candidate or his proposer or any other person, or in regard to any place mentioned in the electoral roll or the nomination paper and no clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the electoral roll number of any such person in the electoral roll or nomination paper shall affect the full operation of the electoral roll or nomination paper with respect to such person or place in any case where the description in regard to the name of the person or place is such as to be understood and the returning officer shall permit any such misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error to be corrected and where necessary direct that any such misnomer, inaccurate description, clerical, technical or printing error in the electoral roll or in the nomination paper shall be overlooked;

(3) Nothing in the rule, shall prevent any candidate from being nominated by more than one nomination paper, provided that such nominations shall not exceed four.


(4) A candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from any ward unless he deposits or causes to be deposited before the nomination paper is delivered to the returning officer, a sum of three thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of a Backward Class or a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or a woman a sum of One Thousand Five Hundred Rupees.


Provided that where a candidate has been nominated by more than one nomination paper for election in the same ward, not more than one deposit shall required of him under this sub rule.


(5) Any sum required to be deposited under sub rule (4) shall not be deemed to have been deposited in that sub rule unless at the time of delivery of nomination paper under sub-rule (1) the candidate has either deposited or caused to be deposited that sum with the returning officer in cash or enclosed with nomination paper a receipt showing that the said sum has been deposited by him on his behalf in the Government treasury.

Rule 12A : Receiving nomination

Receiving nomination in case of seats reserved under the provisos to sub-section (3) of section 7. Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, where a seat is reserved under the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 7.-

(i) for persons belonging to category "A" of the Backward Classes, the Returning Officer may accept nomination papers from persons belonging to both category A and Category B of the Backward Classes, but shall return the nomination paper filed by a person belonging to Category "B" along with the deposit made in case nomination paper is received from any person belonging to category A, before the expiry of the date and time fixed for making nomination, so however, he may proceed to consider the nomination paper filed by a candidate belonging to category 'B' only, when no nomination paper is received from a person belonging to category A before the expiry of the date and time fixed for making nomination.

(ii) for persons belonging to category B of the Backward Classes, the Returning Officer may accept nomination papers from persons belonging to both category A and category B of the backward classes but shall return the nomination paper filed by the person belonging to category A along with the deposit made in case nomination paper is received from any person belonging to category B before the expiry of the date and time fixed for making nomination so however, he may proceed, to consider, the nomination paper filed by a candidate belonging to category A only when no nomination paper is received from a person belonging to category B before the expiry of the date and time fixed for making nomination".

Rule : 17.Recognition of Political Parties

Every political party recognised by the Election Commission of India as a National Party or as a State Party in the State of Karnataka under the election Symbols (Reservation and allotment) Order, 1968 shall be a recognised political party for the purpose of election of the Corporation.


Rule : 17A.Publication of a list of recognised Political Parties and Symbols:

For the purpose of these rules the State Election Commission shall publish by notification a list of recognised political parties and symbol reserved to each such recognised political party and a list of free symbols.

Rule : 17B.Publication of a list of unrecognised Political Parties :

After Rule 17A of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Election) Rules 1979 the following shall be inserted namely: The State Election Commission shall also publish by notification a list of un-recognised political parties in the State of Karnataka

Rule : 18. Allotment of Symbols

(1) A candidate set up by a recognised political party in the election shall choose, and shall be allotted, symbol reserved for that party and no other symbol.

(2) A reserved symbol shall not be chosen by or allotted to any candidate other than a candidate set up by a recognised political party.

(3) Any candidate other than the candidate set up by a recognised political party in the election shall choose and shall be allotted in accordance with the rules herein after provided, one of the symbols specified as free symbols:

Provided that in the case of candidate set up by an unrecognised political party in an election shall be allotted the free symbol chosen by candidate and no one else and in case candidate set up by two or more un-recognised political parties choose the same free symbol, the returning officer shall decide by lot which of those candidates set up by such unrecognised political parties that free symbol shall be allotted and allot that free symbol to the candidate to whom the lot falls and to no one else. The remaining free symbols shall be allotted to other candidates.

Explanation: For the purpose of this rule and rule 17B, the expression "Unrecognised political party" means a political party registered as a political party under Section 29A of the Representation of People Act 1951 (Central Act 43 of 1951) and having its registered office or a branch office in Karnataka and which is not a recognised National Party or a recognised State Party in Karnataka within the meaning of the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

(4) Where a free symbol other than the one chosen by a candidate set up by an unrecognised political party has been chosen by only one candidate at the election, the returning officer shall allot that symbol to that candidate and to no one else.

(5) Where the same free symbol other than the one chosen by a candidate set up by any unrecognised political party is chosen by more than one candidate.

(a) the returning officer shall decide by lot to which of those candidates that free symbol shall be allotted and shall allot it to the candidate, to whom the lot falls and to no one else;
(b) Where there are more number of candidates than the number of free symbols specified, the returning officer shall allot any other symbol in his discretion to the remaining candidates.

Explanation : For the purpose of these rules a candidate shall be deemed to be set up by a political party, if and only if,

(a) the candidate has made a declaration to that effect in his nomination paper; and
(b) a notice in writing to that effect has been delivered to the returning officer before 3 O' clock in the afternoon on the last date for  making nominations.
(c) the said notice is signed by the president or the secretary or any other officer bearer of the party and the president, secretary or such other office bearer is authorised by the party to send such notice and the name and specimen signature of the president, the secretary or such other office-bearer are communicated in advance to the returning officer of the ward and to the State Election Commission. In the case of a National party the authorisation may be made by the president of the party's unit at the state level or any other office bearer of such unit who is empowered by it.

Rule : 20.Appointment of election agent:

(1) Subject to section 29 a candidate at an election may appoint an election agent in Form 8 and notice of such appointment shall be given by forwarding the same in duplicate to the returning officer who shall return one copy thereof to the election agent after affixing thereon his seal and signature in token of his approval of the appointment.

(2) The revocation of appointment of an election agent shall be made in Form 9.

(3) In the event of such revocation or death of an election agent the candidate may at any time before the election is over make a fresh appointment in the manner specified in sub rule(1).

Rule : 21. Appointment of Polling Agents:

(1) A contesting candidate or his election agent may appoint one polling agent and two relief agents to act as such on his behalf in each polling station.

(2) Every such appointment shall be made in Form 10 and shall be made to the polling agent for production at the polling station.

(3) No polling agent shall be admitted into any polling station unless he has delivered to the presiding officer the instrument of his appointment under sub-rule (2) after duly completing and signing before the presiding officer the declaration contained therein.

(4) The revocation of the appointment of a polling agent shall be in Form 11.

(5) In the event of any such revocation or death of a polling agent, the candidate or his election agent may, at any time before, the poll is closed to make a fresh appointment in the manner specified in sub-rule(2).

Rule : 29.Form of ballot paper:

(1) Every ballot paper shall have a counterfoil attached thereto and the said ballot paper and the counterfoil shall be in such form and particulars therein shall be in the language or languages as the State Election Commission may direct.

(2) The names of the candidates shall be arranged on the ballot paper in the same order in which they appear in the list of contesting candidates.

(3) If two or more candidates bear the same name, they shall be distinguished by the addition of their occupation or residence or in some other manner.

Rule : 30. Design of ballot boxes:

Every ballot box shall be of such design as may be approved by the State election Commission.


Rule : 32.Admission to polling stations:

The presiding officer shall regulate the number of electors to be admitted at any one time inside the polling station and shall exclude there from all person other than

1. Polling officers;
2. Public servants on duty in connection with the election;
3. Person authorised by the Commissioner and the State Election Commission
4. Candidates, their election agents and one polling agent of each candidate;
5. A child in arms accompanying an elector;
6. A person accompanying a blind or infirm elector who cannot move without help; and
7. Such other persons as returning officer or the presiding officer may employ for the purpose of election.