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Amid Covid-19 surge, Bihar’s opposition wants panchayat polls to be postponed
As per the panchayati raj department, elections for six posts in each of over 8,400 panchayat bodies are scheduled for June.
Bihar’s opposition parties on Friday called for the postponement of the impending panchayat elections in the state amid the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases in the state and across the country. The state has more than 29,000 active cases at present.
Leaders of opposition parties recently got worried over panchayati raj department minister Samrat Chaudhary’s statement wherein he had said that the department was ready to hold the elections, as he required spending huge budgetary allocations, amounting to ₹10,000 crore, to strengthen the rural institutions and streamline the rural water supply projects being executed under Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal scheme. “Our preparations are in the final stage and final electoral roll has been out,” said the minister.
Anand Madhab, chairman of the state Congress’s manifesto committee, has urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to postpone the elections for the three-tier panchayat elections till the time the situation is brought under control.
“Not only are people getting sick in large numbers due to Covid-19 this time, but casualty figures are also alarming,” said Madhab.
Echoing similar views, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief spokesman and MLA Bhai Birendra said, “Situation would have not been so alarming had the government learnt from the past mistakes and ramped up medical facilities.”
SEC officials said they were all geared up for the elections. State election commissioner Deepak Prasad, however, could not be contacted for his comments.
As per the panchayati raj department, elections for six posts in each of over 8,400 panchayat bodies are scheduled for June. Accordingly, the state election commission identified about 1.14 lakh booths across the state.
