Hustle and bustle of panchayat samiti & zila parishad polls in Punjab

Myriad images of party workers fighting on the streets are being constantly flashed on various media platforms during the ongoing campaign for the upcoming panchayat samiti and zila parishad polls in Punjab, scheduled for December 14. Also repeatedly appearing on television and mobile phone screens are images showing candidates’ nomination papers being snatched and torn.

Enjoying a brute majority of 92 in the 117‑member Vidhan Sabha, the incumbent AAP government is locked in a tough electoral battle with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) (SAD), which seems to be witnessing a resurgence in rural politics. The visible activity of Congress and the BJP cannot be discounted either.

With the state Vidhan Sabha polls slated for 2027, no party is leaving any stone unturned to show its presence on the ground. The Leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, and SAD president Sukhbir Badal have approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging government high‑handedness in not allowing clean and peaceful polls. Meanwhile, the police have been cornered into lodging cases over alleged poll malpractices.

Villages have long proved to be the nurturing ground for many prominent leaders in state politics. According to the last Census in 2011, about 62.5 per cent of the population of Punjab resides in villages.

History

Based on Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of ‘Swaraj’, public participation in rural governance was designed to make villagers active participants in decision-making processes for their social and political upliftment. Panchayati Raj received constitutional approval through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act passed by Parliament in 1992. Implemented in 1993, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) were provided a constitutional framework, which made these bodies a legal entity and not just an advisory wing of governance.

The Act established a three-tier system of rural self-government at the village (panchayat), block (panchayat samiti), and district (zila parishad) levels. Through elections aimed at involving all citizens in decision-making, the Act particularly underlines the participation of women and SC/STs.

Panchayats are responsible for managing village administration and development activities; panchayat samitis plan development, allocate resources, and oversee infrastructure projects at the intermediate level; and zila parishads at the district level play a key role in planning and supervising the activities of panchayat samitis.

Punjab scenario

Besides, approximately 13,240 gram panchayats, the state has as many as 154 block samitis and 23 zila parishads. The Panchayat elections were conducted in December 2024. The samiti and parishad elections, due in May this year, were delayed because of Assembly bypolls and floods. The last elections were held in 2018. Around 1,36,04,650 voters will cast their votes. At least 50 per cent of the seats are reserved for women. There will be two ballot boxes — one each for block samiti and zila parishad elections. Out of the total 19,181 polling booths in the state, 915 have been declared hyper‑sensitive, and 3,528 have been identified as sensitive.

Bottlenecks in self-governance

There is a common complaint that these bodies have very scarce financial resources at hand, which affects their normal functioning. As a result, development projects are often delayed.

These bodies also witness excessive political interference in their functioning. Panchayats belonging to opposition parties often complain of step‑motherly treatment by the ruling government.

The elected representatives are frequently found lacking the capability to move the files in bureaucratic quarters, because they lack knowledge about the processes. Administrative complexities and bureaucratic hurdles are often cited as the biggest impediments to the functioning of these institutions.

Village leaders who made it big

Punjab has a long list of leaders who worked their way up from village politics to top chairs in the state government. Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal started his political career as the sarpanch of Badal village in 1947. Later, occupying chair of the panchayat samiti, he went on to be the chief minister of the state for five times.

A former Member of Parliament, Akali leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi was a sarpanch of Talwandi village for a decade in 1955. Senior SAD leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder was a sarpanch for more than eight years. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring was a member of the Muktsar Zila Parishad. Former Congress Minister Sangat Singh Gilzian was a village sarpanch too. AAP MLA Kuldeep Dhaliwal, who was earlier the cabinet minister, was also a sarpanch of Jagdev Kalan village.