Local Body Polls 2010 in Kerala

by M.R. Biju

Articles 243 E and 243 U of the Constitution of India deal with the question of dura¬tion of Panchayats and Municipalities and pe¬riodicity of elections to the rural and urban local bodies. It is stated therein: “Every Panchayat/Municipality unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force shall continue for five years from the appointed date of its first meeting and no longer.” This constitu¬tional provision also prohibits any dissolution of a Panchayat/Municipality during its life by amendment of law. It also provides that an election to constitute a Panchayat/Municipality shall be completed before the expiry of its duration of five years and in case it is dis¬solved, the election shall be completed be¬fore the expiration of six months from such dissolution. If, however, a dissolved Panchayat/municipality had a tenure of less than six months left, there is no need for election for such a short period. Thus con¬duct of election to the rural and urban local bodies at a five-year interval is mandatory.

The local body elections in Kerala assumed great significance because local level democracy is the basic foundation on which the entire democratic edifice rests. The legitimacy of these elections as crucial instruments of a democratic political process at the local level is increasing day by day. Obviously all the social, economic and politi¬cal factors affecting the State and parlia¬mentary elections influence the local government elections too.

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Local Body Polls 2010 in Kerala: UDF Smashes LDF Fortresses

by M.R. Biju
(Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 48, November 20, 2010)
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