Candidates in fray ahead of Kerala civic polls

50 percent seats reserved for women for the first time.

PTI | October 8, 2010



A total of 70,915 candidates are left in the fray for the multi-tier local body polls in Kerala as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations drew to a close last evening, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).

For the first time, 50 per cent of the total 21,612 seats have been reserved for women in village, block and district panchyats and municipal councils and city corporations, where the voting is to take place on October 23 and 25.

As in any other election in Kerala, the civic polls are also fought fiercely on political lines with the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) being the main contestants.

The grass-root level face-off is taken by main political players in the state as an opportunity for cadre mobilisation and a test of ground realities ahead of the assembly polls due in early next year.

The LDF, which suffered heavy losses in the Lok Sabha polls last year, has exuded confidence of regaining the lost ground through the civic polls.

According to CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan the LDF is facing the civic polls overcoming certain "weaknesses" from which his party and the LDF suffered during the Lok Sabha polls.

The UDF, despite the internal bickering over seat- sharing, is trying hard to make it an impressive show before gearing up for the assembly elections.

The BJP, fighting a lonely battle, has put up contestants in a majority of seats.

Though the battle is largely on coalition lines, both fronts are facing rebel problem in many places across the state with aggrieved aspirants jumping the fray against the party diktats.
 

Comments

 

Other News

How social media is reshaping elections

Since Brazil’s return to direct presidential elections in 1985, no candidate who finished second in the first round of polling had ever won the presidency. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 81, has just done it. What explains the comeback, and what changed in Brazilian politics to make it possi

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter