Lucknow: Even though the Uttar Pradesh government has clarified that the three-tier panchayat elections in the state will be completed by July 12, but uncertainty looms on holding the world largest rural elections.
The government has said the Allahabad High Court order will be fully followed and the tenure of any public representative will not be extended beyond the stipulated date.
Earlier the high court sought the government view on holding the panchayat polls and fixed March 25 for panchayat officials to inform the court about their stand.
The final publication of electoral rolls for the panchayat polls were yet to be announced by the state election commission while several other norms such as reservation and the like were yet to be fixed. Besides, the UP government is yet to set up the Backward Class Commission that will decide on the reservation formula.
The five-year term of the panchayat in UP will end on May 26, 2026, and it is almost impossible to hold the elections before it.
There are over 58,000 panchayats in UP along with 821 blocks for Kshetra Panchayat and 75 district panchayat bodies.
Some officials opined that the government was least interested in holding the panchayat polls before the crucial 2027 Assembly elections.
However, UP Panchayati Raj Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar stated on Thursday that while the terms of office of the pradhan, district panchayat member, block chief, and district panchayat president are different, none of their terms will be extended after July 12.
Consequently, the election process will be completed within the stipulated time-frame.
He stated that the State Election Commission and the government are fully engaged in election preparations. The election process was announced in March 2025, and now it is being moved forward in compliance with court directives.
According to Amit Kumar Singh, Director of the Panchayati Raj Department, a proposal for the formation of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission has been sent to the government.
Minister Rajbhar said the commission would be formed by the next cabinet meeting. He stated that reservations would be determined based on the 2011 census and no new system would be implemented. The Backward Classes Commission would submit its report according to the existing reservation cycle, thus reducing the delay in completing the process.
The Minister clarified that panchayat elections will be held under the existing system. This will ensure no disruption to the functioning of rural bodies and maintain administrative continuity. The government’s objective is to strengthen the local government system by conducting elections in rural areas, he added.
