Jaipur: For the first time after conducting urban local body elections simultaneously across the state under the “one state, one election” framework, Rajasthan will now hold its Panchayati Raj elections in a similar consolidated exercise.
The State Election Commission on Saturday announced the schedule for the Panchayati Raj elections, with the electoral process beginning on October 8 and concluding on November 28.
To elect more than 1.55 lakh representatives across the state, the elections will be held in four phases.
A key feature of the elections is the 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions. As a result, half of the elected representatives in the rural local bodies will be women.
Elections for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members will be held in four phases on October 23, October 29, November 4, and November 14. The results for these elections will be declared on November 20.
The elections for Sarpanchs and Ward Panchs will also be conducted in four phases—October 25, October 31, November 6, and November 16. The results for Sarpanch and Ward Panch elections will be declared on the day of polling itself, by late evening.
Elections for Pramukhs and Pradhans in Kota, Sri Ganganagar, Baran, and Karauli districts will be held separately in December. However, elections for members of all 41 Zila Parishads and Panchayat Samitis will be conducted as part of the current exercise.
State Election Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh said Sarpanch and Ward Panch elections would be conducted through ballot papers, while voting for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad members would be conducted through EVMs.
With 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, half of the elected posts will go to women.
In 14,403 Gram Panchayats of the state, around 1.30 lakh ward panchs will be elected, and with 50% reservation, 7,201 Gram Panchayats will have women Sarpanchs, and more than 65,000 women are expected to be elected as Ward Panchs. Similarly, there will be 20 women Zila Pramukhs and 227 women Pradhans as well.
According to the Election Commission, around 4.09 crore voters will exercise their franchise in the elections, with 51.82% of them being male and 48.18% female voters.
The results are expected to hint at the political mood in Rajasthan's rural areas as the elections are being held across the state in one go.
The ruling BJP has recently performed strongly in the urban local body elections and will try to carry that momentum into the rural polls as well. For the Congress, the Panchayati Raj elections come after its setback in the urban local body polls, and the party will seek to regain ground in rural Rajasthan, traditionally a strong electoral base for it.
With elections being held simultaneously across the state, the results will provide both parties with a significant measure of their organizational strength and rural support base.
