Punjab Gears Up For Panchayat Elections

Chandigarh

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s term is halfway through, yet Punjab has not seen panchayat, municipal corporation, or council elections. Following the Lok Sabha elections and the Jalandhar by-election, the Punjab government has now initiated preparations for panchayat elections. The State Election Commission has written to the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats to complete the reservation process for panch and sarpanch seats in the upcoming elections.

The letter also instructed that all district deputy commissioners issue notifications regarding reservations to avoid any issues during the elections. It is worth noting that during the 2018 elections under the Congress government, 13,276 sarpanch and 83,831 panches were elected. In February, the Panchayat Department dissolved those panchayats whose five-year term had ended.

Punjab has over 13,000 panchayats. On August 10th last year, the Punjab government ordered the dissolution of all panchayats, block committees, and district councils. However, a petition was filed against this order in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, arguing that the notification was against the law. The sarpanches contended that the elected representatives were illegally dissolved before their term ended. Following this petition, the government withdrew its notification and reinstated the panchayats.