Bhatkal TMC to Elect New President on September 8 After 28-Month Gap

The Bhatkal Town Municipal Council (TMC) will finally hold an election for its president on September 8, 2025, filling a role that has been vacant for nearly 28 months. The council is set to complete its current term on November 4, meaning the new president will serve for a short duration until the tenure ends.

The position had remained unoccupied since the end of the first half of the TMC’s tenth term. This was because the president’s seat was reserved for a Scheduled Caste (SC) woman candidate, but the council had no member fitting that category. As a result, vice-president Altaf Kharuri acted as president during the long vacancy.

The deadlock was recently resolved when the state government revised the reservation criteria. A notification from the Urban Development Department, issued on July 21, changed the requirement to any Scheduled Caste candidate, regardless of gender. This update allowed the election process to proceed.

Official sources have indicated that the election will take place at the TMC meeting hall between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on September 8. Councillor Raghvendra Gawaali, the council’s only Scheduled Caste member and an independent, is widely expected to become president. With the current council’s term ending soon, Gawaali’s tenure as president will be brief but significant, as it ends the longstanding leadership vacuum and ensures that the council has a formal head for its remaining period.