7 Keralam wards face bypolls as civic representatives quit for secure jobs
Seven local government representatives in Kerala, India, have resigned from their posts to pursue more secure, permanent employment. The resignations have triggered bypolls in their respective wards, highlighting the economic challenges faced by local civic officials.
Why it matters
It underscores the tension between public service and financial stability for grassroots politicians in India, where low honorariums often force representatives to seek outside work.
The lure of a permanent job and a better life is hard to resist, at least for a few civic representatives in Keralam who quit their posts, paving the way for bypolls in the wards they represented.
Of the 38 local body wards going to polls on September 28, seven grama panchayat wards have fallen vacant after elected representatives resigned after securing jobs.
While two of them have travelled abroad, three have landed part-time government jobs. One member quit following her appointment as an anganwadi supervisor and another after being appointed to a minister’s staff. Of the seven people, two each are from the Congress and the CPI(M), and three from the IUML.
Choosing between the responsibilities entrusted to them by the electorate and the need for financial security has not been an easy task, some of them say.
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