75 sq. km. The council also included 40 additional members drawn from the parliament and the state legislature. Around the same time, the BMP council passed a resolution that only BDA layouts should be included in its limits and not revenue pockets, because of the cost of developing the latter. Around 50 per cent of the expanded BMP areas (meaning at least 40 wards among 100) were revenue pockets at that time. At that time, the BMP proposed betterment charges of Rs.215/sq. yard based on costs of developing those areas. But after the BMP elections of 1996, the council took a decision to reduce betterment charges to Rs.100/sq. yard. The state government (the H. D. Deve Gowda led administration) then issued a notice to the city council demanding why the latter reduced the rates. Subsequently, the state government agreed to the BMP rates. In November 2006, the BMP Council was dissolved by the state government upon the completion of its five-year term. In January 2007, the Karnataka Government issued a notification to merge 100 wards of the erstwhile Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike with seven City Municipal Councils (CMC)s, one Town Municipal Council (TMC) and 110 villages around the city to form a single administrative area (111 villages mentioned in initial Notification. Later 2 villages omitted from the list and another village added before final Notification). The process was completed by April 2007 and the body was renamed 'Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation). The first elections to the newly created BBMP body were held on 28 March 2010, after the delays due to the delimitation of wards and finalising voter lists. The second elections were held on 22 August 2015 with the BJP winning the majority with 101 Corporators (Congress won 76, Janatha Dal S 14 and Independents 7). The results were declared on 25 August 2015. With none of the parties touching the required number, the Congress and JDS with the help of independents won the mayor election. The BJP with the majority number of corporators in the BBMP council was forced to sit in the Opposition. On 11 September 2015, B.N. Manjunatha Reddy of the INC was elected Mayor, Hemalatha Gopalaiah of the JD(S) was elected Deputy Mayor and Padmanabha Reddy of the BJP was elected the Leader of Opposition. Elections were held in Mar–April 2010 after a period of Commissioner's rule for the BBMP corporators and