Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To hold direct election for the post of chairman of Municipal Councils and Nagar Parishads, the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed in the state assembly on Tuesday. The next election of local bodies will be direct.
Tabling the bill, urban development and housing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that everybody desired direct election to check horse-trading of corporators.
In direct election, the chairman would not be under any pressure and could undertake development work.
Till now, corporators used to form groups and build pressure on the chairman and due to this, the latter could not work properly, he said. The objective of the bill is to check blackmailing.
The amendment will provide immunity to the chairman to function in a hassle-free manner, at least for three-and-a- half-years after which there is a recall right for the public. Along with this, corporators can get the chairman removed through a no confidence move but for this, three-fourth majority has been mandated. After bringing a no- trust move, the corporators have to forward it to the collector who will cross-check it and then send it to the government.
Vijayvargiya said that even Congress MLAs approached him to come up with the amendment.
On the demand of the Opposition that a hassle-free five-year tenure should be given to the chairman instead of the cap of recall provision after three-and-a half years, the minister said that if five-year tenure was given, the chairmen would become autocratic.
Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar said that the bill would lead to political polarisation. He asked if the government wanted to make local bodies political akhadas (arenas).
He added that this was the new model of government to sell tickets and win the local body elections and that the bill was flawed.
The government discontinued the practice of holding direct elections for the post of chairman of Municipal Council and Nagar Parishad during the corona period. Later, the ill-effects surfaced as corporators used to build pressure on the chairman, preventing him from working properly. The bill has a provision that after three-and-a-half years, people can recall the chairman and three-fourth majority of corporators can oust the chairman through a no-confidence motion.
