Indirect rural polls may be deferred till Covid subsides
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government is unlikely to hold the indirect panchayat elections to elect the district and block panchayat chiefs for now due to the second wave of the Covid-19 wreaking havoc everywhere, even as lobbying by political parties and potential candidates is already in full swing in villages.
As per the Allahabad high court order of February 4, 2021, the state government and the state election commission are supposed to hold indirect elections to the posts of zila panchayat and kshetra panchayat chairpersons, completing the exercise by May 25 after holding direct elections by May 10.
The four-phase direct elections in which around 12 crore rural voters exercised their franchise to elect village pradhans, village ward members, kshetra panchayat and zila panchayat ward members are over with counting of votes last week. Now, 75,852 kshetra panchayat members and 3,050 zila pachayat members elected in the recent direct polls will vote to elect 75 zila panchayat and 826 kshetra panchayat chiefs respectively in the final round.
The state government, according to people dealing with the issue, has decided to not hold indirect elections till the pandemic subsides in the state and it may soon seek the court’s permission for the same.
“Having drawn a lot of flak for not deferring the three-tier panchayat polls despite the devastating second wave of the Covid-19, the government has got cold feet about its plans to hold indirect rural polls this month”, they disclosed.
Indicating that the indirect rural polls may be put on hold for now, minister panchayati raj, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said that the government’s entire focus, as of now, was on winning the fight against the pandemic. “The current time is not conducive to holding polls and the government wants to focus on its fight against the Covid-19 that has started spreading its tentacles
in rural areas as well,” he said before adding, “But no final decision on polls has been taken yet.” Additional chief secretary panchayati raj, Manoj Kumar Singh also said the issue was under consideration. “A final call on this issue will be taken soon,” he said.
Another senior official, however, disclosed that the government would soon file an affidavit in the high court, stating that due to the pandemic it was not advisable to hold indirect rural polls at this juncture. “The hearing of the case filed in January is already scheduled to be held on May 27 by the court and the government is most likely to submit an affidavit the court the same day, explaining why it could not comply with its earlier directives for holding indirect elections by May 25,” sources revealed.