The Pioneer 15.09.2010
Kerala civic polls on Oct 23, 25VR Jayaraj | Thiruvananthapuram
The Kerala State Election Commission on Tuesday announced two-phase elections to the 1,208 three-tier local administration bodies of the State, almost a month behind schedule.
This will be the first civic polls with 50-percent reservation of seats for women. The local bodies elections this time are considered to be a rehearsal of the State Assembly election to be held within eight months. With the declaration of elections, the model code of conduct came into force in the State.
Polling would be held on October 23 and 25 and votes would be counted on October 27, State Election Commissioner P Kamalkutty said in Thiruvananthapuram. He said that the Election Commission wanted to complete the electoral process in such a way that the new governing councils could take charge by November 1.
October 4 would be the last date for filing nominations, the scrutiny of which would be completed the very next day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations would be October 7. Though preference was for holding polling in a single phase, it had to be split into two due to problems with availability of sufficient security, the SEC said.
As per the schedule drawn up by the Election Commission, polling in the local bodies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod would be held in the first phase on October 23. In the remaining districts – Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram – polling would be held on October 25.
Paper ballots would be used for voting in the total 978 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats and 14 district panchayats. People of 59 municipalities and the five city corporations would cast their votes using electronic voting machines, Kamalkutty said. About 8,000 EVMs would be required for this, he pointed out.
About 2.25 crore voters would cast their votes to elect the representatives of 21,612 wards. Around 40,000 polling booths would be set up for the lection, he said, adding that 2.6 lakh officials would be on duty for the polls, which could cost about Rs 65 crore.
Kamalkutty said that polling in 17 wards of Velam Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district could be delayed for a week. If that happened, a similar delay would occur in polls at one or two divisions of the Kunnummal block panchayat and one division in the Kozhikode district panchayat. He also said that of the total 60 municipalities, Mattannur would not have election now as the term of the council there would expire only in 2011.
The Election Commission would hold a meeting with representatives of all the recognized political parties at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday to discuss the various issues involved in the elections, including adherence to the model code of conduct. The State Chief Secretary would convene a meeting of top police officials and district collectors to discuss the security matters related to the polls, Kamalkutty said.
Meanwhile, the preparations of the two main political fronts, BJP and other smaller organizations for the elections are in the final stages. Seat-sharing processes in the two main fronts – CPI(M)-led ruling LDF and Congress-headed Opposition UDF – are also nearing completion even when some parties like the Indian Union Muslim League are struggling to find enough number of women to field in the election.
State Home Minister and CPI(M) Politbureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the seat-sharing discussions in the LDF were almost over. Opposition leader Oommen Chandy said that the UDF had completed its preliminary preparations for the polls. State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala said that the UDF would face the polls with absolute unity despite the reports about bickering in the front.
