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Panchayat elections have been announced in Punjab. Petitions were also filed in the High Court regarding these much-awaited elections, regarding which the court sought information from the Punjab government about conducting the elections by October 20.
Whether it is considered court pressure on the government or a break from political engagements, voting for the formation of 13,237 panchayats of the state will finally be held on October 15. The nomination process will also start from Friday. In fact, the term of the panchayats was completed in February 2024 but the elections were pending since then.
Although the panchayats were dissolved last year, after the court's rebuke the government had to wait for the completion of the panchayats' term, but due to the parliamentary elections and then by-elections, these elections could not be held on time. Elections of municipal corporations and municipal councils are also pending in the state. Opposition parties are constantly attacking the Aam Aadmi Party government over all this. It has become difficult to answer in the higher courts.
That is why elections had to be announced. Now the activities going on in villages to become Sarpanch-Panchayat will intensify. The government has amended the rules of Panchayati Raj Act to end factionalism in villages and has changed the rules for contesting elections on party symbols. Therefore, no candidate can contest elections on party symbol.
Meanwhile, the state government has also transferred officers on a large scale. As per the announcement of the State Election Commission, these elections will be conducted using ballot papers. The ballot paper will also have a 'NOTA' symbol. In these elections, 13,237 Sarpanchs and 83,437 Panchs will be elected. There will be 50 percent reservation for women in the elections. By increasing the participation of women at the grassroots level, the goals of women empowerment will be achieved and democratic institutions will also be strengthened.
Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was one of the first dreamers of strengthening Panchayati Raj. He believed that people at the lower level should get maximum powers. For this reason, Panchayat elections have special importance as the smallest unit of democracy, but in the present era factionalism and mutual rivalry have affected the all-round development of villages.
Although previous governments had plans to provide additional grants from the government to unanimously elected panchayats, these promises were never fully fulfilled. In such a situation it becomes necessary that the government takes steps to encourage the formation of unanimously elected Gram Panchayats so that community relations in villages are strengthened and all-round development of villages can take place.