The Allahabad high court on Wednesday directed the State Election Commission to hold panchayati raj elections in Uttar Pradesh within three months.
A bench comprising justices Ajit Kumar and Garima Prashad passed the order on a bunch of petitions, seeking a direction to the State Election Commission to place on record a detailed time-bound schedule for completion of the panchayat election process well before the expiry of the district panchayats’ tenure. The petitioners had also challenged the state government’s decision to appoint administrators following the expiry of the tenure of the pradhans.
The court ruled that the outgoing gram pradhans will continue to function as administrators during the interim period until elections are held.
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Reservation Exercise and Election Timeline
Earlier, the state government counsel had submitted before the high court that the state government had appointed an OBC Commission for determining the reservation status for the conduct of the elections.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, the state government counsel had submitted before the high court that the state government had appointed an OBC Commission for determining the reservation status for the conduct of the elections.
{{/usCountry}}The government contended that the election of gram pradhans and members of gram panchayats cannot be held until the exercise is completed. Till date, the OBC Commission has not submitted its report.
The bench on Wednesday directed that the election be held within three months with the completion of the reservation exercise.
Uttar Pradesh has 125.85 million panchayat voters compared to 122.95 million in 2021, according to EC data.
Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh have traditionally served as the biggest grassroots political test before assembly polls.
The three-month deadline set by the court means that the rural elections would have to be held by January 2027. The Registrar General of India has announced that population enumeration will be held in Uttar Pradesh along with three other poll-bound states from December 1 to January 4, 2027. Then, the assembly elections are due to be held in the state February-March 2027.
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Political Reactions to the Court Order
Panchayatiraj minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said, “We welcome the high court’s decision. We will give a detailed reaction only after going through the full court order.”
The Opposition Congress and the Samajwadi Party also welcomed the court order while accusing the ruling BJP of delaying the polls for fear of defeat.
“As BJP feared that public discontent in rural areas could manifest against the party in the polls, potentially impacting the upcoming assembly elections, it was delaying the panchayat elections,” UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ said.
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Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abbas Haider said, “Why were these elections not conducted on time? Why did the government allow a situation to arise in which the high court had to intervene and prescribe a deadline?”
BJP chief spokesperson Dinesh Pratap Singh said the state government was waiting for the high court’s order. “Only after going through the court’s order, legal advice on the issue could be obtained. Thereafter, the government will decide accordingly,” Singh said.