Local Body Election in Kerala
Encyclopedia
Elections in Kerala are regularly held to fill government officials at all levels of government in both Kerala
and India
as a whole. These range from national elections to regional local body or panchayat elections. The Assembly of Kerala creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India. In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.
.
, India
, for the polls that are held to select the Local Self-government Representatives. There are three branches of local self-government institutions in Kerala. They are Grama Panchayat which can be translated as Village Government, Block Panchayat and District Panchayat. A Grama Panchayat is almost an equivalent to City
administration and District Panchayat to a County
. There are two more wings namely Municipality
which is another form of Block Panchayat that exists only in major towns and Corporations that come only in five major cities.
The State has 978 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 60 Municipalities and five Corporations. Consequent to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India
, the local self-government institutions (LSGIs) are to function as the third tier of government
. In Kerala, LSGIs have been meaningfully empowered through massive transfer of resources as well as administrative powers. Coupled with a grassroots level approach of participatory planning
whereby the developmental programmes are identified and implemented through Grama Sabhas (Ward councils), the LSGIs have emerged as effective agencies for the implementation of developmental programmes.
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as a whole. These range from national elections to regional local body or panchayat elections. The Assembly of Kerala creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India. In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.
Elections
It is worth noting that the 1951 election are results from Travancore-CochinTravancore-Cochin
Travancore-Cochin or Thiru-Kochi is a former state of India . It was created on 1 July 1949 by the merger of two former princely states, the kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin....
.
| Year | Lok Sabha Election | Winning Party/Coalition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | First Lok Sabha | Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian... |
|
| 1957 | Second Lok Sabha | Communist Party of India Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925... |
|
| 1962 | Third Lok Sabha | Indian National Congress | |
| 1967 | Fourth Lok Sabha | Communists (CPI(M) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of... , CPI, SSP Samyukta Socialist Party Samyukta Socialist Party , was a political party in India from 1964 to 1972. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party in 1964. In 1972 SSP was reunited with PSP, forming the Socialist Party.... ) |
|
| 1971 | Fifth Lok Sabha | United Front (INC, KEC Kerala Congress The Kerala Congress is a recognized State political party in Kerala, India. The party was founded by K. M. George in October 1964 after a group of legislators decided to break from the Indian National Congress... , CPI) |
|
| 1977 | Sixth Lok Sabha | United Front (INC, KEC, CPI, ML Indian Union Muslim League Indian Union Muslim League is a state political party in the state of Kerala, India. The chief support base of the party falls inside northern and central Kerala... , RSP Revolutionary Socialist Party (India) Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok... ) |
|
| 1980 | Seventh Lok Sabha | Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election... (CPI(M), CPI) |
|
| 1984 | Eighth Lok Sabha | Indian National Congress | |
| 1989 | Ninth Lok Sabha | Indian National Congress | |
| 1991 | Tenth Lok Sabha | Indian National Congress | |
| 1996 | Eleventh Lok Sabha | United Front United Front (India) The United Front was a coalition government of 13 political parties formed in India after the 1996 general elections. The coalition formed two governments in India between 1996 and 1998. The government was headed by two Prime Ministers from Janata Dal - H. D. Deve Gowda, and I. K. Gujral... (CPM, CPI, JD Janata Dal Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P... , RSP) |
|
| 1998 | Twelfth Lok Sabha | United Democratic Front United Democratic Front (India) United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress.... (INC, ML, KEC(M)) |
|
| 1999 | Thirteenth Lok Sabha | United Democratic Front United Democratic Front (India) United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress.... (INC, ML, KEC(M)) |
|
| 2004 | Fourteenth Lok Sabha Indian general election in Kerala, 2004 The Indian general election, 2004 polls in Kerala were held for 20 seats in the state. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Left Front which won 15 seats. Indian National Congress, suffered the greatest loss in Kerala, since it didn't even win a single seat, even though it won 8 seats in... |
Left Democratic Front Left Democratic Front Left Democratic Front is a coalition of left winged political parties in the state of Kerala, in India. This is one of the two major political coalitions in Kerala, each of which have been in power alternatively for the last two decades. LDF is the coalition that is presently in oppposition... (CPI(M), CPI) |
|
| 2009 | Fifteenth Lok Sabha Indian general election in Kerala, 2009 The Indian general election, 2009 polls in Kerala were held for 20 seats in the state.-List of Elected MPs:... |
United Democratic Front United Democratic Front (India) United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress.... (INC, ML, KEC(M)) |
Panchayat
Panchayat Elections is a term widely used in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, for the polls that are held to select the Local Self-government Representatives. There are three branches of local self-government institutions in Kerala. They are Grama Panchayat which can be translated as Village Government, Block Panchayat and District Panchayat. A Grama Panchayat is almost an equivalent to City
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
administration and District Panchayat to a County
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
. There are two more wings namely Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
which is another form of Block Panchayat that exists only in major towns and Corporations that come only in five major cities.
The State has 978 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 60 Municipalities and five Corporations. Consequent to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
, the local self-government institutions (LSGIs) are to function as the third tier of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. In Kerala, LSGIs have been meaningfully empowered through massive transfer of resources as well as administrative powers. Coupled with a grassroots level approach of participatory planning
Participatory planning
Participatory planning is an urban planning paradigm that emphasizes involving the entire community in the strategic and management processes of urban planning; or, community-level planning processes, urban or rural...
whereby the developmental programmes are identified and implemented through Grama Sabhas (Ward councils), the LSGIs have emerged as effective agencies for the implementation of developmental programmes.