Civic body polls in Haryana set to be held in June-July

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, May 19

Municipal elections in Haryana are set to be held in June-July before the elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

Sources said the BJP-JJP government was “inclined” to recommend the holding of the much-delayed elections to the 47 municipal corporations, municipal councils and municipal committees ahead of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads) poll on account of “political considerations”.

Testing the waters

• The BJP-JJP government wants to test political waters in urban areas before the PRI poll
• It is a “smart move” by state government to blunt anti-government sentiment in the wake of the recent farmers’ protest
• The BJP usually fares well in urban areas. Better performance in MC poll will put the BJP in better position in the PRI poll

“A recommendation to this effect will be sent to the State Election Commission (SEC) shortly, following which the commission may announce the Municipal Corporation schedule next week,” a senior state government functionary told The Tribune today.

Sources said since the voter lists and other procedural formalities for the holding of MC poll were complete, there was no hitch in holding the MC poll immediately. The revision of electoral rolls for the PRI poll is yet to be completed and those are set to be held in August-September.

Giving the rationale for holding MC poll before the panchayat poll, the government functionary asserted that this was smart move by the BJP-JJP government to blunt any anti-government sentiment in the wake of the recent farmers’ movement against three now-scrapped farm laws.

The BJP usually fares well in urban areas as compared to rural areas in elections. This is also one of the reasons why the party wants the MC poll before putting its best foot forward in the panchayat poll.

There was intense anti-government sentiment in the villages during the recent farmers’ protests as against the cities. “The state government first wants to test the political waters through Municipal Corporation polls in urban areas before venturing into the panchayat poll,” the functionary said.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently gave its nod to the holding of both MC and panchayat polls, setting off political activity in the state.