Kerala's chief electoral officer (CEO) Teeka Ram Meena said though political parties were not enthusiastic it was almost certain that byelections would be held for the two assembly constituencies (Kuttanad and Chavara) before November 29.
"The political parties should have approached the Election Commission earlier and submitted their reservations. That would have helped. Now, I think, it is too late," the CEO told Onmanorama on Sunday.
Meena said he would hold a meeting with the political parties in Kerala to brief them about the various instructions handed down by the Election Commission. He, however, said he would not pass on any reservations political parties had about the byelections to the EC. "I cannot talk to the Commission on their behalf. Now that the guidelines have been issued, I have to function as part of the EC," Meena said.
"Earlier, on the basis of an informal feedback from political parties, I had written a strong letter to the EC arguing that there was no need for the byelections. The very next day I also made the Chief Secretary write a similar letter to the EC," he said.
The CEO had cited three factors in support of his argument against the byelections. One, the Assembly election was less than six months away.
Two, unnecessary expenditure at a time when the state is reeling under fiscal stress. According to Meena, the COVID-19 precautions mandated by the Election Commission would push up poll expenditure for the two constituencies by by around Rs 4 crore, taking the total to around Rs 12 crore.
Three, the threat of COVID. In fact, the EC had put off the byelections twice in the name of COVID.
Now, the EC is conducting 65 byelections across the country, even in states like Odisha, Bengal and Tamil Nadu where Assembly elections, like in Kerala, are only six months away.
The two byelections in Kerala have already breached the Constitutional deadline. The Kuttanad seat fell vacant with the death of Thomas Chandy on December 20, 2019. Chavara MLA Vijayan Pillai died on March 8 this year. In both cases, the byelections will be held six months after the deaths. By law, the EC has to conduct a byelection within six months of a seat falling vacant.
The CEO said the EC was going by the book. "As per Constitutional requirement, they have to hold the byelections. They cannot cancel the polls without any reason. Two times they said elections could not be held because of COVID. Now detailed guidelines have been issued and we have to follow it," the CEO said.
Usually, one polling booth is for 1500 voters. Now for social distancing purposes, the EC has said only 1000 could be accommodated in one. "This means we will have to find new buildings. This will also mean additional staff to man these new booths," Meena said.
