A ruse to put off local body elections

SEC has done delimitation, but govt wants to do it again

The Karnataka government has tabled a bill in the ongoing session of the legislature to set up a delimitation commission to redraw constituencies of taluk and zilla panchayats, though the exercise has already been completed by the State Election Commission (SEC), giving rise to suspicion that the real reason is to postpone the already delayed polls at the grassroots level. Elections to 31 zilla panchayats and 232 taluk panchayats representing 30,000 villages in the state, which were due in May-June this year, were put off due to the Covid-19 situation. In effect, the government’s move nullifies the herculean task on delimitation and rotation of roster undertaken by the SEC over the past year or so. Now, with the government deciding to amend the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, the entire exercise will be carried out afresh by a new commission, to be headed by a retired additional chief secretary.

Law Minister J C Madhuswamy has claimed that the SEC’s list was fraught with “gross errors” with over 2,000 petitions being filed in the High Court. Election at the panchayat level is the real barometer of the mood of the people and the BJP apparently fears that this is not the most opportune time to go to polls considering the recent change in chief minister, price rise and other factors. The commission is expected to take at least a year to submit its report, giving the ruling party so much more breathing time. Besides, it is said the BJP is not happy with the impartial manner in which the SEC had gone about changing the contours of constituencies and the roster system because it would affect the party’s prospects adversely. On a positive note, though, the new exercise will provide an opportunity to the public to air their grievances at the district level before the commission steps in.

Whatever be the government’s reasoning, it is undeniable that despite the lip sympathy rendered to self-governance, politicians in Vidhana Soudha, especially MLAs, are averse to sharing power with local bodies, be it the BBMP or gram panchayats, which explains why elections are postponed under one pretext or the other. Delimitation is a necessary exercise given the changing dynamics of the population, as it aims at providing better representation to the people and ensuring effective implementation of the reservation system. In reality, however, it is often reduced to a farce due to political interference. Delimitation can be really meaningful and serve the purpose for which it is intended only if the integrity of the process is protected.