It was early this month that the Commission decided to hold the biennial election to the council of states from Kerala to fill three seats falling vacant on account of the retirement of three members in April and planned to complete the election process by April 16.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday expressed his displeasure in the manner in which the Election Commission kept in abeyance the schedule of elections to fill three Rajya Sabha seats after the Law Ministry flagged some issues.
And the Commission had also issued a schedule for the polls. But on Wednesday, the notification failed to come out and instead came the news that the election process was going to be put on hold.
"The Election Commission without giving any reason decided to freeze the elections. They have to give a reason on why this was done," said Vijayan, expressing his displeasure while interacting with the media at Kollam.
Had the elections been held as per the schedule, the ruling Left would have been able to send two of their members and the Congress-led opposition would have got one seat.
One reason why Vijayan is peeved is because the Assembly polls in Kerala are being held on April 6 and the votes would be counted on May 2, and should the Left fail to retain power, which they aim and claim, the UDF will be able to send two members to the Upper House.
Conversations