Uttar Pradesh: Panchayat elections can be deferred for 6 months, say officials

The hint on the postponement of the panchayat polls was announced by a government spokesperson through his tweet on late Tuesday night.

Though no official was ready to say anything over the matter sources in the Panchayati Raj Department confirmed that they were yet to start the process for the panchayat elections and it would require around six months time for preparedness, which includes revision of electoral rolls, reservation of the seats and even delimitation of the seats due to change in the political demography during the past five years.

However, sources here on Wednesday said that once the term of the Panchayati Raj bodies from the level of the village head to the Zila Panchayat head ends after December 25, local officers would take over as administrators and run the Panchayati raj institutions.

The State Election Commission, which holds the panchayat and urban local bodies polls in the state, has, however, started its preparation and announced to hold revision of the electoral rolls from September 1.

But the political parties, particularly the opposition, have questioned the UP government for trying to defer the panchayat polls.

"When Bihar can hold the assembly polls in November then why UP cannot hold the panchayat polls by December," a senior Samajwadi Party leader questioned.

The SP leader further said that the situation of Corona in UP is far better than Bihar, besides the panchayat elections will be held in the rural areas which have less impact on the pandemic.

"If the panchayat polls are deferred for six months then it would coincide with the coming assembly polls in early 2022, which will create more problems for the government," it said.

There are over 52,000 village panchayats, 61,000 block members, 821 blockheads, 3,000 Zila panchayats members and 75 Zila panchayat chiefs, the election was to be held for nearly 8.50 lakh posts with a voter base of 10.50 crore, the highest in the country.

The term of the panchayat bodies will expire in the last week of December and if elections are not held by then, the state government will be forced to appoint administrators to run the show.

In 2015 under the Samajwadi Party government, panchayat elections were also delayed by two months.

But this time, the state government has hinted at the extension of the elections by six months, taking the poll process tentatively to May-June when the state will be gearing up for the assembly elections due to be held in early 2022.