Citing damaged rural roads in Himachal, government postpones elections to panchayat raj institutions

The state government has ordered the postponement of elections to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) that were due in December this year and January next year on the ground that heavy rainfall during the monsoon had caused extensive damage in the state, including to roads in rural areas.

Sanjay Gupta, who holds the additional charge of Chief Secretary, has ordered the postponement of the elections under the Disaster Management Act, 2025, in view of damage caused to roads and private and public property. Gupta issued the order for the postponement of the elections in his capacity as acting Chief Secretary and Chairman of the State Executive Committee of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

“As per Section 24 of the Disaster Management Act, 2025, the elections to panchayati raj institutions will be held only after proper connectivity is restored across the state so that inconvenience is not caused to voters as well as polling personnel and no person loses his right to cast his vote because of road connectivity issues,” the order issued yesterday reads.

The order mentions that the monsoon that had been active in the state since June 19 caused widespread damage inflicted by 47 cloudbursts, 98 flashfloods and 148 major landslides. It also mentions that 270 persons lost their lives due to heavy rains while 198 people died in rain-related incidents during this period.

The order also refers to letters written by the Deputy Commissioners of Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur and Shimla districts to the Secretary (Panchayat), seeking the postponement of the PRI elections till road connectivity is restored in rural areas so that people could be saved from untoward incidents.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur accused the state government of running away from holding the PRI elections. “The government knows the outcome of the elections and is scared of a crushing defeat that the Congress will face. Therefore, it first avoided the urban local body elections and now has postponed the PRI elections as well,” alleged Thakur.

“The state government cannot face the people of the state and therefore is using the disaster as a pretext to postpone the elections,” he added.

State BJP president Rajeev Bindal also accused the Congress of postponing the PRI elections in view of its impending crushing defeat because of its anti-people policies.