Karnataka OBC reservation in local-body elections has come under fresh challenge, with organisers in Davanagere alleging that the community has received fewer reserved seats than its estimated population share and announcing plans to seek High Court intervention.
G.B. Vinaykumar, founder-president of the Swabhimani Balaga, said at a press conference in Davanagere on Saturday that Other Backward Classes should receive 33% reservation in local-body elections. He alleged that reservation was being allocated without a scientific survey, resulting in what he described as political injustice to OBC communities.
According to figures cited by Vinaykumar, OBC communities have been allocated 226 of Karnataka’s 1,229 Zilla Panchayat constituencies, or about 18%. At the Taluk Panchayat level, he said, 630 of 3,566 constituencies, or about 16%, had been reserved for OBC candidates.
Vinaykumar referred to the 2022-23 Kantharaj Commission report, which he said estimated Karnataka’s OBC population at 44%. He also cited estimates from other commissions placing the community’s population between 50% and 55%. The figures and estimates were presented at the press conference and were not independently substantiated in the report.
He said the state had not undertaken a scientific and empirical study of OBC representation over the past 75 years, despite Supreme Court directions concerning reservation in local institutions. He also referred to Tamil Nadu’s 69% overall reservation and its protection under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, arguing that Karnataka should strengthen political representation for OBC communities.
Local-body reservation has become closely linked to the Supreme Court’s “triple test” framework, which requires states to establish the extent of backwardness, assess the inadequacy of political representation and ensure that reservations remain within the applicable overall limits. Vinaykumar alleged that governments were not collecting the data required for the process and were using technical difficulties to delay reservation decisions and local elections.
He further alleged that political intervention was influencing reservation allocations in some taluks, including changes made to suit local political interests. The allegations were made at the press conference and no response from the state government or election authorities was included in the report.
The issue was also raised by Virupakshappa, president of the Davanagere District Kuruba Vidyavardhaka Sangha. He said 10 to 12 of Davanagere’s 29 Zilla Panchayat constituencies should be reserved for OBC communities. He announced that a petition would be filed before the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to correct alleged shortcomings in the reservation notification.
The petition is expected to seek a review of reservation allocations in Davanagere and other parts of Karnataka, along with a scientific basis for determining OBC representation. The next formal step will depend on the filing of the proposed petition and any directions issued by the High Court.
