The State Delimitation Commission has issued the final notification on the ward delimitation carried out in the 86 municipalities and six Corporations in Kerala. With this, the first phase of the ward delimitation exercise in local bodies is over.
The decision was finalised by the Commission headed by A. Shajahan, who is also the State Election Commissioner.
The Kerala government had earlier issued a notification revising the number of wards in the municipalities and Corporations. As per that decision, municipalities should have a minimum of 26 wards and a maximum of 53. In Corporations, it was fixed as, respectively, 56 and 101. Consequently, the number of wards in municipalities have risen by 128 and that in the six Corporations, by seven. The revision was based on the decennial census held in 2011.
Now that phase 1 is over, the 941 grama panchayats in Kerala have a total of 17,337 wards, the 87 municipalities have 3241 wards and the six corporations, 421 wards.
The final notification on the delimitation can be accessed on the State Printing department’s e-gazette website www.compose.kerala.gov.in.
The new voters lists where the electors are reassigned in line with the delimited wards will be prepared by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The State Election Commission, which is tasked with the conduct of elections to local bodies, has issued directions for arranging polling stations to match the changes in voter strength.
Block panchayats are covered in phase II of the ward delimitation exercise. The draft notification related to this phase will be issued on May 30.
Delimitation Commission members Rathan U. Kelkar, K. Biju, S. Harikishore and K. Vasuki were present at the meeting.
Published – May 29, 2025 10:47 am IST
