JOIN USSix district collectors in Kerala will have to man two Lok Sabha constituencies each as the state braces for the Lok Sabha election in its 20 constituencies on April 10.
Speaking with reporters here on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nalini Netto said the collectors had to take additional charge because there was a shortage in the number of Returning Officers with District Collector grade.
Collectors in Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram will have additional responsibility of Vadakara, Ponnani, Alathur, Chalakkudy, Mavelikkara and Attingal constituencies.
According to the list published after summery revision of electoral rolls, on January 22, Kerala has about 2.37 crore voters, 1.23 crore of them women.
The total number of voters has seen a jump of 19 lakh from the 2009 rolls. “The gender ratio has always had a healthy trend in Kerala though there are certain pockets in Malappuram district where enrolment of young women voters has remained low,” the CEO said.
About 2.3 lakh applications for addition of names in the rolls are pending in the state. Close to 1.5 lakh people are expected to be on election duty at the 21,424 polling stations spread across 11,895 locations. Other details, including the number of possible auxiliary stations, are being worked out.