Kerala is the state in India, where Communist parties are ruling the government. Results of the local body elections are coming out today with a clear indication of left majority. Three tiers ‘Panchayet Election’ is an example of decentralization of power in rural India. It was the concept of Left Front government of West Bengal that took shape in all over India with time and became an example to the world.
In Kerala, three tier rural local bodies are comprised of ‘District Panchayets’ (highest tier), ‘Block panchayets’ (2nd tier) and and ‘Gram Panchayets’ (smallest tier; the term ‘Gram’ means village).
There are 14 districts in the state of Kerala and thus 14 ‘District Panchayets’ are there, out of which LDF comprised of mainly CPI(M) and CPI got majority in 10; United Democratic Front led by Congress received majority in 3 and are ahead in 1. The ruling party of the Central government BJP could not open its’ account. If we observe the seat-wise or ward wise tally, then out of 331 seats under those 14 District Panchayets, LDF are ahead in 212, UDF in 110 and BJP in only 2.
The second tier is the ‘Block Panchayet’, where 152 bodies are there in the province; LDF won in 105 and are ahead in three more, UDF got majority in 39, whereas BJP got a duck. There are a total of 2080 wards under those 152 bodies, out of which Communists are ahead in 1268, Congress led UDF in 727 and BJP led NDA in 37.
There are a total of 941 rural bodies in the third tier, popularly known as ‘Gram Panchayet’ in India. Till now, LDF are going to form the board in 406, whereas UDF in 248 and BJP in 4. There are a total of 15962 small wards under those 941 bodies, out of which Communists are ahead in 7261, Congress led UDF in 5889 and BJP led NDA in 1180. Other small forces and independent candidates are ahead in 1620 altogether.
As the forthcoming general election of the state assembly in Kerala is scheduled in May 2021, few months apart from now, these local body elections had an immense importance. Undoubtedly, results indicate continuation of communist regime in Kerala.
The latest update of the election results at 17:00 pm Indian time is considered
