After a delay of over 3 years, Odisha civic polls to be held in March

The polls are overdue in most of the municipalities since December 2018 and in some others from July 2019. The five-year term of 65 civic bodies including the Berhampur Municipal Corporation, expired on September 29, 2018, while the tenure of 48 civic bodies including Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, and Sambalpur municipal corporations expired on February 2019.

Updated on: Feb 25, 2022, 19:57:03 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Elections to 109 municipal bodies including three municipal corporations in Odisha will be held in March this year, delayed by more than 3 years due to court cases as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Odisha’s State Election Commission on Friday said elections to the 109 civic bodies will be held on March 24 and counting will take place on March 26 with over 41 lakh voters exercising their franchise. (HT PHOTO.)

The State Election Commission on Friday said elections to the 109 civic bodies will be held on March 24 and counting will take place on March 26 with over 41 lakh voters exercising their franchise. State Election Commissioner Aditya Prasad Padhi said elections would be held in 106 municipalities/NACs and three Municipal Corporations - Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Cuttack Municipal Corporation and Berhampur Municipal Corporation.

The notice for the upcoming polls will be issued on February 28. Unlike the previous polls, this time there will be direct elections for the post of mayor in corporations and chairpersons in municipalities/NACs. Two EVMs will be used in each booth- one to elect the Mayor/chairpersons and another for corporators and councillors. There will be none-of-the-above (NOTA) option for voters in the EVMs.

However, the poll process will not take place in Sambalpur, Rourkela, Kendrapada, Nuapada and Odagaon due to pending court cases. Similarly, the process will not start in Attabira and Hindol notified area councils (NACs) because the terms of these elected ULBs will end in 2023.

The polls are overdue in most of the municipalities since December 2018 and in some others from July 2019. The five-year term of 65 civic bodies including the Berhampur Municipal Corporation, expired on September 29, 2018, while the tenure of 48 civic bodies including Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, and Sambalpur municipal corporations expired on February 2019.

The polls were delayed after a PIL was filed in the Orissa High Court in 2018 alleging that the reservation of seats for SC, ST and OBC was more than 50 per cent in the 2012 panchayat elections, 2013 civic polls and the 2017 panchayat elections, a violation of the 2010 SC order. The HC in 2018 asked the government not to exceed 50 per cent reservation of seats for the SC, ST and OBC in the non-scheduled areas.

Challenging the order, the Odisha government in September 2018 had moved the Supreme Court which rejected its appeal. A special leave petition filed by the state government in SC was also rejected on January 22, 2019 in which the top court had asked the government to abide by the directive of the High Court. The process was further delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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