Thiruvananthapuram: The delimitation of wards in panchayats and urban local bodies in Kerala is on track to be completed by the end of April.

A crucial sitting of the Delimitation Commission is scheduled for April 23, during which it will examine complaints received on the draft ward delimitation report and initiate necessary corrective measures. Following this review, a final notification on the delimitation of wards in 941 panchayats, 87 municipalities, and six corporations will be issued within a few days.

According to the proposed notification, a total of 1,510 new wards — including 1,375 in panchayats and 135 in municipalities and corporations — will be created across the state. This will involve redrawing the boundaries of existing wards.

The Commission had published a draft delimitation report on November 18, 2024, and invited public feedback until December 4. It received over 16,000 complaints during this period.

Most of the complaints were related to population imbalances among wards, errors in boundary assessment, omission of certain households, and issues concerning ward names. To address these grievances, over 1,000 officials were deployed. Their findings, along with the recommendations of the respective district collectors, were submitted to the Commission.

Subsequently, the Commission conducted district-level sittings to collect additional evidence between January 16 and February 22, 2025. However, opposition parties have alleged procedural lapses during this exercise.

Once the current round of delimitation is complete, the Commission is expected to begin work on delimiting wards in block and district panchayats.

No more byelections likely
Although around 25 seats in various local bodies across the state are currently vacant, it is unlikely that byelections will be held to fill them. According to election rules, byelections can only be conducted if the remaining tenure of the council exceeds six months.

Since the tenure of the current administrative councils in local bodies is set to expire in December, any newly elected representatives would serve for less than six months. Given this situation, the State Election Commission is reportedly of the view that there is no need to hold byelections at this stage.

Over the past five years, more than 320 representatives were elected to local bodies through 13 rounds of byelections in the state.