Local body polls to be held in November

Thiruvananthapuram: Polls to the local bodies in Kerala will be held in November but the dates will be announced later, State Election Commissioner (SEC) K. Sasidharan Nair said on Monday.

"The elections will be held as early as possible in November and it would be held in a single phase but over two days," Nair said.

"Taking into consideration that police would have to be moved, the polls will be held on a single day in seven districts and the remaining seven districts will have it after that," he added.

Municipal elections have already been delayed in the state as all new elected local bodies ought to have taken office latest by November 1.

However, following a difference of opinion between the state government and the SEC, after fresh delimitation took place and saw creation of 28 new municipalities and one new corporation besides reorganising another existing corporation, the matter reached the Kerala High Court after some of the local bodies approached it.

The court put the ball back in the SEC's court.

The SEC then held talks with the state government and at an all-party meeting held on Monday and it was decided to hold the elections after incorporating the newly-created municipalities and corporations.

The final voters' list has over 2.49 crore voters, which includes 5.04 lakh new voters.

"A total of 725 non-resident Indian voters have also registered and if they wish to vote, they will have to come with their passports and cast their votes in their respective polling booths in their home town," the official added.

Polls will be held for around 22,000 seats in the three-tier local body structure in the state where 50 percent of the seats are reserved for women candidates.

In the 2010 local body elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front won over 50 percent of the total seats.