Most constituents of Kerala’s ruling UDF, including a large section of front leader Congress, are unhappy over the alleged intransigence being shown by the Muslim league, second biggest front partner, in its demand that the local bodies elections should be held on the basis of the reconstituted ward structure which the High Court had the other day found faulty.
According to UDF sources, the State Government has been forced to file an appeal against the order of the High Court single-judge Bench nullifying creation of 69 Panchayats ahead of the civic polls due to the insistence of the Muslim league. This may create an impression that the Government is running as per the wishes of a single coalition partner, they fear.
The Muslim league’s insistence on the matter has come just when the State Election Commission, has taken a firm stand that the civic polls should be held in October itself — and on the basis of the 2010 ward structure — so that new councils can come into being by November 1. The poll panel has given a week’s time to the Government to take a final decision on the matter.
According to the commission, there is not enough time left to change the old boundaries of wards and local bodies as the Government desires and waiting for the exercise to be complete could delay the election. Therefore, the polls will have to be held on the basis of the 2010 ward structure and not on the basis of the faulty delimitation, it says.
On Wednesday, the Government filed an appeal in a division bench of the High Court challenging the single-judge Bench’s order of Monday which invalidated the formation of new Panchayats. The division Bench is expected to take up the appeal on Thursday itself considering the urgency of the matter.
“Everybody knows that the decision to file the appeal was taken at the insistence of a particular party (Muslim league). If a delay happens in holding the civic polls because of this, it could affect UDF’s prospects not just in this election but in the next Assembly polls as well,” said a senior leader of the Kerala Congress (M), a major UDF partner.
There are also complaints to the effect that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is often neglecting the general sentiment of his own Congress party to safeguard the Muslim league’s interests. It is alleged that Chandy had kept his own convictions away to support the Muslim league in the issue of the civic polls.