Ernakulam election wing busy vetting inquiry reports on complaints over delimitation of wards

The district election wing is vetting inquiry reports on complaints over ward delimitation to identify substantial issues, eliminate duplicates, and disregard frivolous or politically motivated ones before submitting them to the Delimitation Commission by Wednesday (January 6).

Over 1,000 complaints about ward delimitation in 96 local bodies – 82 grama panchayats, 13 municipalities, and the Kochi Corporation – have been filed in Ernakulam district. Inquiry officers, mostly returning officers of the respective local bodies, are handling the investigations, with some reports still pending submission. Once completed, the commission will conduct a district session to hear parties with noteworthy complaints.

The delimitation of wards was primarily based on the 2011 census and the existing number of households. According to election department sources, most complaints were regarding discrepancies in household counts and ward boundaries. The draft delimitation notification shows an increase of 157 wards in the district, raising the total from 1,833 to 1,990.

Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have raised objections to the delimitation exercise. The Congress, in particular, highlighted that the number of households and population in several divisions of the Corporation violated delimitation guidelines.

Once the complaints regarding the delimitation of wards in grama panchayats, municipal corporations, and the Corporation are resolved and the final number of wards is determined, the delimitation process of block panchayats and district panchayat will begin.