Congress demands polls in single phase

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress has demanded single-phase elections to the local bodies and has blamed the State government for the uncertainty about the conduct of the polls, though the new members will have to assume office on October 2.

�Either this is sheer inefficiency or a premeditated move, says Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy.

The government has failed to follow the procedures for ward delimitation, preparation of voters list, formation of new panchayats and reservation, he says.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) High-Power Committee met twice in the past two months to assess the situation and had criticised the State Election Commissioner for his alleged failure to infuse transparency in ward delimitation and preparation of voters list. The Opposition front had alleged at that time that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had been meddling with the pre-election processes with ulterior motives.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala says he had pointed out much earlier that the delimitation and the preparation of voters list were being deliberately delayed to sabotage the election.