Poll notification triggers political activity in villages
Following notification by the Rural Development and Panchayat Development regarding panchayat elections by October 20, candidates have begun approaching leaders of political parties — despite being debarred from contesting elections of panchayati raj institutions (PRI) on party symbols.
As per information, following the approval of the CM, the rural development and Panchayat Department, has issued a notification regarding the election.
The notification issued by the Rural Development and Panchayat Department Secretary read, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (1) of Section 209 of the Punjab Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Punjab Act 9 of 1994); and all other powers enabling him in this behalf, the Governor of Punjab is pleased to direct that the general election of the members of the gram panchayats shall be held by October 20, 2024.”
However, more conservative aspirants from the general category have chosen to stagger lobbying and campaigns till the roster of reservations is prepared and released by the district administration. Most of the PRI elections being due since commencement of the ensuing year, the Punjab Government’s notification regarding the conduct of panchayat elections by October 20 has triggered political activity across Malerkotla 176 villages.
Though candidates have been debarred from contesting election political party symbols, many candidates, including sarpanch and panch, have begun approaching senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sudhar Lehar), among others.
Harjinder Singh Samra, husband of a former sarpanch, said contesting elections on individual symbols would dilute factionalism at villages that were known for teething competition among supporters of various political parties. Samra called upon candidates to work for the development of their localities while continuing loyalties towards their respective political leaders.
He said, “Though my family is long associated with SAD and my wife won an election on a party ticket, it does not mean we will not support candidates contesting elections independently.” He added that a decision about contesting the election would be taken only after publication of the reservation roster.
ADC (D) Navdeep Kaur said the process for preparing a roster of reservations would be initiated after receipt of formal instructions on the issue soon.
“We have already done the spadework for undertaking various jobs related to the conduct of panchayat elections. We will initiate the process for preparing the roster of reservations, which is to be done block-wise,” said Kaur.
The Deputy Commissioner, Dr Pallavi, said the personnel in various departments of the three subdivisions had been advised to maintain the sanctity of the poll process by creating an environment for free and fair elections.
She said, “As government officials have been running panchayat operations and people are waiting for the conduct of elections to formally constitute their panchayats, we have advised everyone concerned to ensure that the maximum number of eligible voters come forward to use their right to vote without any pressure or allurement.”
