With the State Election Commission remaining firm in its position that the civic poll could not be delayed in the name of the delimitation process which the court had found to be faulty, Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government on Tuesday decided to request the High Court for approval for a schedule by which the election could be delayed by a month.
As per the normal schedule, the local bodies election should be held in October and the new councils should be in place by November 1 but the Government will on September 3 submit an affidavit in the High Court praying to permit holding of election in November in such a way that the new councils could come into being by December 1.
After a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday which authorised the Government to approach the High Court, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told newsmen that the Government would abide by whatever decision the court took and that it would not go for appeal if the judgement went against its interest.
“The election will be held in time. Also, it will be held in a single phase,” the Chief Minister said. “Some people are scared about the approval the people have given to the formation of new Panchayats and municipalities,” he said in a bid to connect the poll panel’s objection to holding the election on the basis of the post-delimitation ward structure.
The Election Commission is firm that the election should be held as per the 2010 ward structure as the High Court had earlier found that the formation of 69 new Panchayats by splitting same Revenue Villages among multiple local bodies was a violation of the provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act.
The High Court is expected to pronounce its final judgement in the cases pertaining to the formation of new local bodies on September 3. In an interim order last week, the court had said that the Election Commission had the authority to schedule the election as it thought suitable so that new councils could be in place by November 1, which was a necessary constitutionally.
The Government on Tuesday decided to approach the court with its plea for permission for slightly delayed poll after the talks it had held on Monday with the Election Commission failed to produce any positive outcome. At the talks, the Government stood firm in its demand for election in the 28 new municipalities which the commission was not prepared to accept.
The Election Commission has been refusing to hold the election on the basis of the new ward structure because it thinks a minimum of six months may be needed for completing the delimitation process. In this situation, the only option available to it is to conduct the election on the basis of the 2010 ward structure, it argues.
According to sources, the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning had seen Ministers of the Muslim league, second biggest party in the ruling coalition, raising scathing criticism against the Election Commission. There were even opinions to the effect that the commission was showing unnecessary stubbornness and that its stand with regard to the poll was mysterious.
However, the Chief Minister said that there was no need to put the blame for the confusion over the election schedule on the Muslim league as every decision had been taken in unison by the UDF. The Muslim league is holding almost all the portfolios related to local administration including the Panchayats, Municipalities and the Urban Affairs departments.
Sharp criticism against the poll panel had come up also at a meeting of the ruling UDF held on Tuesday morning. Some of the leaders even said that the commission was playing political games and such moves should be countered politically. However, the general feeling in the front was that going for open confrontation with the poll panel would be counter-productive.