How to vote in the Local Self-Government(LSG) Kerala elections 2020

About Local Self-Government(LSG) in Kerala state of India in 2020. How three fronts UDF, LDF, NDA are fighting to win the local bodies. The competition is not only between them but also against independents, citizen groups. The covid-19 protocol will also be followed.

It is pandemic time across the globe and at the same time, Kerala in southern India will see the LSG elections aka Panchayath elections next week. This will be the first election to be held in Kerala post the coronavirus outbreak. Elections usually are like celebrations, filled with colours and noise, but now it’s gloomy and people aren’t even aware if there are elections or not.

Unlike every time, we usually discuss a lot of post-election analysis, the big numbers and politics. This time we will keep it as simple as possible. Also, we are here not to talk on that, but to basically explain how you should be voting in the election. We are not here to spread any propaganda or anything but discuss some real issues affecting you and me so that you know what is to be voted for this election and how is this election different from others. Even if the vote is not for a party but for an independent, go for it. You are strengthening democracy by handing over the power to the people.

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Anyone who is an Indian Citizen, above the age of 18 and has registered can vote. If you have already registered you can verify your name in the voter list. Check your name here.

Introduction to LSG

It was in 1994 when the Panchayati Raj Act and Kerala Municipalities Act was passed in the Kerala Assembly. Before that in 1993, 73rd Constitutional Amendment called for the states and UTs to establish a three-tier system, were also known as Panchayati Raj Act where each district will be having a district panchayat, a block panchayat at the sub-district level and gram panchayat at the village level. It was all focussed on decentralisation of power and passing on the power directly in the hands of people. In the urban areas, they are called as Municipalities for small towns and Municipal Corporation for cities. These are further divided into wards. Each voter above the age of 18, is eligible to vote and elects his/her ward member. The ward member represents you in the local body council. In villages and municipalities, you have a concept called as Ward Sabha/Gram Sabha where your ward members can directly interact with the voters to understand their grievances and address their required demands. As per 2009 rules, 50% of the seats are reserved for Women.

Introduction to your Local Body

Kerala has 6 Municipal Corporations-

Trivandrum
Kollam
Kochi
Thrissur
Kozhikode
Kannur(Newly formed in 2015)

The largest Corporation by both area and population is Trivandrum.

Kerala has 87 Municipalities. Find the full list here. In terms of Area, the smallest Municipality is Aluva and by population it is Guruvayur. The largest by population is Alappuzha.

Gram Panchayaths exceeding 20,000 population is converted to Municipality and we thus see a decreasing number of it and the increasing number of Municipalities.

In 2015, Left Democratic Front (LDF) had a massive victory throughout the state and it also put up a strong trend set for the upcoming State Assembly Elections in 2016. Out of 6 Municipal Corporation, LDF bagged 5 except for Kochi which went with United Democratic Front (UDF). Although UDF held the Kannur Corporation later on after resignation of a Corporator. BJP had increased its vote share close to 15% and also went on to win Palakkad Municipality, the first Municiplatiy to be captured by the BJP. It also came a close second in the Trivandrum Corporation overtaking UDF to be the second-largest party. Despite all these, except for Nemom, BJP couldn’t win much of the Assembly seats in the city and it was UDF which still represents the Trivandrum and nearby constituencies. LDF in 2019 bypolls, wrested the Vattiyurkavu Constituency from the UDF which was a massive blow not only to UDF but also to the BJP.

Due to covid-19, lot of restrictions had been imposed on campaigning and gathering.

Issues

We know in several elections, political parties tried to spinoff the elections as a national or state style elections. We know in Hyderabad that BJP tried to bring Hindu-Muslim, Nationalism issues etc as poll issues. Please don’t fall into such pitfalls.

Before we proceed, I would humbly request you all to keep your political ideology, stance and everything aside and think. We need a person to represent you, a person whom you can share your problems and not a person who will represent your ideology. Because the Local Government is not meant for propagating your ideology. It is less likely that you get to interact directly with your MLA or MP, but it’s certain that you can surely get in touch with your Ward Councillor. You need to vote that kind of person even if it will be an independent.

Disaster Management

It is easier for these to be done at the municipal level than at the state level because of decentralisation. For eg- the Administrator in Trivandrum may not be aware of onground situation in a faraway village or a town. We have seen multiple disasters for the past few years- Okhi cyclone, floods in 2018 and 2019, and now Covid-19. The rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts happen and are executed at the municipal level for these aspects because of ease of administration. It was ward members and panchayat officials which were in forefront during the floods and later during the pandemic. Community kitchens opened during the lockdown are looked after by respective local bodies.

Roads

Even though we talk about National Highways, State Highways etc, we often miss the fact that the most important set of roads are the local roads or we also can call them city roads or rural roads. These are constructed and maintained by the Local Body. The road in front of your home will probably be owned by the Municipality or Corporation and there is no point in blaming the state govt. for the same. Another way to find out who the road will be to check out the Govt websites or appropriate signboards which will have the name of the road owner written. As said in Rural India- Bijli, Sadak, Pani…Sadak is really an important thing which you should be voting for. Just like the road, depending upon the owner of the road, the same owner is also responsible for the pedestrian walkway and streetlights. Post floods, there was massive damage in the road infrastructure which all governments had to focus on. So depending upon the road facility at your street/locality, please vote appropriately.

Tourism

Kerala’s one of the most important industries and the livelihoods of millions of people in several districts like Idukki, Wayanad, Alappuzha etc. Floods and the pandemic have paralysed the industry as such. Both foreign and domestic tourism has stopped. Earlier the resorts, hotels and other places used to pay a lot of taxes to the Govt as well as used to a tool for development, now this has stopped.

Water

It is one of the most important issues when it comes to local bodies. Even though cities and towns have pipelines of KWA which is a state-owned, a lot of places in rural areas depend on well water. Just check if you receive clean water, the quality of water, do u get it 24x7 etc. In many areas in the outskirts especially in West Kochi area still face a lot of issue with water supply. V4 Kochi an independent group has promised free water.

Education

Many of the primary and secondary schools function at the district Panchayat level. In urban areas, they are handled by the respective urban bodies.

Social Justice and Poverty

Poverty alleviation and establishing equality and social justice are now one of the main functions of the local government. Ensuring that poor people are properly settled, have a proper place to live, food and nutrition, slum resettlement etc. come under this.

A big municipal issue that grabbed national attention was the demolition of four flats in Maradu Municipality which had violated the CRZ rules of construction.

Urban and Rural Planning

Planning future expansion of cities, streets, roads, signals, etc. fall in this section. Building canals, proper sanitation like drainage, sewage treatment, etc. This one has created a lot of ruckus in many cities. Maintaining of local infrastructure is a broad topic under this.

Kochi Metro should be regarded as the biggest success in Kerala Urban planning and transport. There are multiple bridges and flyovers also rising in the city of Kochi. New projects like Water metro, the Integrated transport system is also coming up

Facilitating traffic management, public transport, maintaining bus stops and bus terminals also can be included here.

Waste Management

Remains to be one of the biggest concerns in the urban areas. Most of the solid waste management plants like Brahmapuram and Vilappilshala are overflowing. These have been processing not only for the respective cities but also for the adjoining Municipalities. Since these have stopped doing so, small municipalities are now not able to collect and manage solid waste properly. They may have install mini-plants in the local area itself. In Aluva, there is no proper collection of solid waste by the municipality and it is outsourced to an NGO named Planet@Earth which comes only once in a month. Although for management of biodegradable waste initiatives like Bio-bins, Bio-gas plants, etc are given for free and subsidised rates for those who require it. So, at what frequency is the waste being collected from your home, where is it processed or recycled? What can be the alternatives?

These are just a small wafer of issues which I had handpicked out of a big list. Please do research more about your ward and local area before going to vote.

Everything just doesn’t end after you cast your vote. It is just the beginning. After that whenever possible you need to follow up on various issues, their work, progress etc. Attend ward meetings. awareness meetings etc. You are also part of the system and not away from it. These are some basic things which you can do aside from whatever you are doing now. The dates for the elections are- December 8th, 10th and 14th. I sincerely believe you will make a wise choice and hopefully choose the best candidate. Last but not the least, you have registered and you will be there to vote.

Reach out in the comments!

Originally published at https://infodailybyjrp.blogspot.com on December 5, 2020.