MP COMMISSION RECOMMENDS 35% QUOTA FOR OBCS IN PANCHAYAT, LOCAL BODY POLLS

BHOPAL: Acting on the Supreme Court’s directive, the Madhya Pradesh Backward Classes Welfare Commission on Thursday recommended 35% reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates in panchayat and local body elections.

On December 17 last year, the Supreme Court ordered the state election commission to stay polling on OBC-reserved seats in the panchayat polls that were to be held in three phases on January 6, January 28 and February 16 this year, and re-notify them under the general category. On December 28, the SEC terminated the panchayat polls.

Commission chairperson Gauri Shankar Bisen said the OBC voters in the state constituted 48% of the total voters.

“According to the directions of the Supreme Court, the triple test has been followed in the survey,” Bisen said, addressing a press conference.

The commission has made six recommendations to the state government, said Bisen.

One of the recommendations is to reserve at least 35% seats for OBCs in local bodies.

“A proposal should be sent to the government of India by the state government to amend the Constitution to provide for OBC reservation in the three-tier panchayat and urban body elections. On the basis of population, the state government should declare the district and block dominated by OBC as ‘Other Backward Classes’ dominated areas and the development plan for those areas should be implemented accordingly,” Bisen said.

The state government should also ask the Union government to include in the Central OBC list all those state-specific castes that are currently not in the list, the panel head added.