One state, one election | Rajasthan divided over panchayat poll postponements

Balki Devi from the tribal-dominated Sirohi district of Rajasthan is happy. Her tenure as sarpanch of Achpura has been extended. This gives her time to complete unfinished projects including the Jal Jeevan Mission, a Central scheme meant to provide potable water to all through household tap connections.

“Most developmental work gets stalled for various reasons such as lack of funds and enforcement of model code of conduct. My tenure extension may not be welcomed by people waiting to contest panchayat polls, but it is going to help the existing sarpanchs and panchayat committees, who now can complete their pending projects,” she told The Federal.

Several firsts

Not everyone in Rajasthan’s vast hinterland agrees with Balki Devi.

In a move widely anticipated, the Rajasthan government, for the first time in six decades, postponed the elections due in January 2025 for 6,759 panchayats. It appointed the sitting sarpanchs as panchayat administrators — another first.

The rural local body polls were delayed in 2020, too, due to the reorganisation of panchayats. But the administrators who were appointed then were government officials, not sarpanchs.

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Pioneering state

Rajasthan has been a pioneer in the Panchayati Raj movement. It was the first state to implement the system on October 2, 1959, in Nagaur district.

Now, the extension of the tenure of sarpanchs as administrators without specifying a timeframe for fresh elections has raised questions and led to a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Rajasthan High Court.

The PIL, filed by Giriraj Singh, former chairman of the Gram Seva Sahakari Samiti at Govindgarh in Jaipur district, Nandkishore Yadav, a former sarpanch, and others challenges the move to postpone the elections and appoint outgoing sarpanchs and ward panchs as administrators and members of administrative committees.

Plea against postponement

At least three similar petitions have been filed in Jodhpur and Jaipur.

Giriraj Singh’s counsel Prem Chand Devanda argued that the notification by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department on January 16 violated constitutional provisions and the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act.

“Administrators have been appointed without formally dissolving the panchayats, which is unconstitutional,” Devanda told The Federal. “Also, the administrators have been given financial powers, which they can easily misuse. Once a sarpanch’s tenure ends, they no longer remain elected representatives.”

Law versus government

According to Devanda, legal provisions clearly state that a private individual cannot be appointed a panchayat administrator. Only a government officer can be named to the post, and only for up to six months.

In 2020, when the electoral process was delayed, government officials like panchayat secretaries were made the administrators till the next elected sarpanch and panchayat committee came into being.

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Devanda added: “The government notification does not specify a timeframe for conducting elections or about the tenure of the appointed administrators. As per the constitutional mandate and Panchayati Raj provisions, elections must be conducted before the completion of the five-year term to ensure a new executive body.

“But this government did not make any arrangements for conducting elections till January. On January 16, a day before the tenure ended, the notification about elections was issued without citing reasons.”

Constitutional provisions

Devanda said the notification contradicts Articles 243 E and 243 K of the Constitution and Sections 17 and 94 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act.

This has been done keeping in mind the gains that could accrue to political parties, said the lawyer.

“Panchayat samitis are the basic democratically-elected unit for local governance. The delay does not bode well for democratic decentralisation,” he warned. “The notification is arbitrary and does not adhere to the constitutional mandate.”

Article 243 E of the Constitution states that an election to constitute a panchayat shall be completed before the expiry of its duration of five years from the date of appointment for its first meeting and no longer. Article 243 K deals with the establishment of a State Election Commission as a constitutional body with powers of superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls to conduct elections to the panchayats.

Court’s observations

In response to the PIL, Rajasthan High Court’s Chief Justice MM Srivastava and Justice Uma Shankar Vyas asked the state government to clarify when the elections will be held and under which provisions administrators have been appointed.

The court remarked that administrators should be appointed as a temporary measure and for a short period.

The government said the appointments were made under Section 95 of the Panchayati Raj Act and that a detailed written response would be given soon.

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Blow to democracy

Rajasthan has 11,253 panchayats, and their tenures get over at different times. At least 704 will see their tenures end in March this year while 3,847 will see theirs end in September-October.

Social activist Nikhil Dey, who helms the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, says the postponement of the elections is unhealthy.

“The panchayat system is a crucial part of local governance and promotes grassroots democracy and decentralisation, meaning transferring powers and responsibilities to local bodies, which in turn means participative decision making and effective implementation of development projects. Elections every five years are necessary to keep democratic values alive and in line with our Constitution," he told The Federal.

Government to benefit?

Virendra Srimali, coordinator with The Hunger Project in Rajasthan, which works with elected women panchayat members to make them effective leaders, says the postponement is a win-win situation for the BJP government in the state.

“The extension of Sarpanchs’ tenure has obviously made them happy as they get more time to complete projects and still wield financial powers without a government-appointed administrator breathing down their necks. The move is politically strategic,” he said.

According to one estimate, panchayats implement close to 70 per cent of rural developmental works. The elected representatives from political parties at the village level can use the development agenda to build up their parties’ support base.

There is also the fact that women now vote in larger numbers than men. As Rajasthan has around 5,600 women sarpanchs, political parties see them as potential agents who can garner support for them. Thus, the village-level governments can potentially turn around an election in any party’s favour.

One State, One Election

In Rajasthan’s power corridors, the move is seen as a step to streamline governance and facilitate synchronised elections for all Panchayati Raj institutions.

In its 2024 budget, the Rajasthan government announced plans to implement a ‘One State, One Election’ policy to reduce election-related costs. Sources say the plan was to conduct all civic body polls in mid-2025, spanning 45 days, in three or four phases.

For this, one would need to delay or advance some local body polls. Unified elections would mean putting in place systematic reforms and ensuring smooth governance in the interim period.

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Case for unified elections

Rajasthan has taken a leaf out of the model followed in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In Madhya Pradesh, the panchayat polls were cancelled in 2021 following a Supreme Court ruling on OBC reservations. The government then announced that panchayat elections would not be held without ensuring reserved seats for OBCs. Other factors like the pandemic and pending delimitation were also cited.

In Uttarakhand, too, local bodies elections in 12 districts were postponed in November 2024 and district magistrates were appointed as administrators.

Sarpanch-turned-CM

A delegation from the Rajasthan’s Sarpanch Sangh met Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma recently and demanded assurances of their continuance. They asked that government officials not be appointed as administrators.

After the elections were postponed, the Sangh held an appreciation ceremony for Sharma, who himself started his political career as the sarpanch of his village Attari in Bharatpur district.