751 gram panchayats in Gujarat declared Samras
Out of the 4,564 gram panchayats on which elections were announced by the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) last month, 751 have become 'Samras' or won uncontested. These gram panchayats were those which were either headed for general elections or midterm elections, or which came into existence after divisions of other gram panchayats.
An official release from the SEC on Friday stated that out of the 4,564 gram panchayats, which were scheduled to go to polls, 751 have become 'total uncontested'. In other words, they have become Samras under the scheme of the state government in which villagers choose their ward members and sarpanch with consensus and do not go to polls. The villages that become Samras get special benefits from the state government.
The release also stated that in 271 gram panchayats out of the remaining 3,813, elections won't be held. This is because while some wards are going Samras, others are not witnessing any candidature. Overall, general or mid-term elections will be held in 3,541 gram panchayats on June 22.
On the other hand, the SEC had also announced by-elections in 3,524 gram panchayats last month. However, due to some seats won uncontested and others not witnessing any candidature, the elections will be held in 353 gram panchayats. Voting for the by-elections will also be held on June 22.
Elections will be held for the total posts of 3,656 sarpanch and 16,224 ward members. A total of around 81 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes in the elections.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Indian Express
751 gram panchayats in Gujarat declared Samras
Out of the 4,564 gram panchayats on which elections were announced by the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) last month, 751 have become 'Samras' or won uncontested. These gram panchayats were those which were either headed for general elections or midterm elections, or which came into existence after divisions of other gram panchayats. An official release from the SEC on Friday stated that out of the 4,564 gram panchayats, which were scheduled to go to polls, 751 have become 'total uncontested'. In other words, they have become Samras under the scheme of the state government in which villagers choose their ward members and sarpanch with consensus and do not go to polls. The villages that become Samras get special benefits from the state government. The release also stated that in 271 gram panchayats out of the remaining 3,813, elections won't be held. This is because while some wards are going Samras, others are not witnessing any candidature. Overall, general or mid-term elections will be held in 3,541 gram panchayats on June 22. On the other hand, the SEC had also announced by-elections in 3,524 gram panchayats last month. However, due to some seats won uncontested and others not witnessing any candidature, the elections will be held in 353 gram panchayats. Voting for the by-elections will also be held on June 22. Elections will be held for the total posts of 3,656 sarpanch and 16,224 ward members. A total of around 81 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes in the elections.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Cabinet mulls holding rural polls by July-end, awaits court nod on quotas
1 2 3 Hyderabad: In an informal cabinet meeting on Monday, it was decided in principle to go for panchayat, MPTC and ZPTC elections before the end of July, but only after an aggressive outreach on govt's welfare programmes. The govt is counting on Rythu Bharosa, jobs to youth and women-centric schemes to pay dividends in rural polls. The govt is waiting for resolution of the case on BC reservations in the high court to move ahead on polls. Sources said that elections may also be pushed to early August in order to give govt time to reach out to voters to showcase its welfare programmes. The cabinet will take a formal call after discussing it with Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, and other senior leaders, sources said. After the cabinet approval, the State Election Commission (SEC) would be informed that the state govt was ready to provide police security, employees needed for poll duties and other logistics. As per the Panchayat Raj Act, state govt approval to extend all logistics is mandatory for the SEC to conduct elections. Sources said the meeting also decided that it was essential to get the message out to voters about the Congress govt's sincerity on welfare programmes and that it was "not implementing promises with an eye on polls". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Confidence packed. Wrinkles left behind. Philips Garment Steamers Book Now Undo In the backdrop of two ministers, D Anasuya and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, earlier announcing in public that election notification was expected by month-end, the CM cautioned cabinet colleagues not to talk about panchayat election dates when a case on reservations was pending in HC and also reminded them that it was for the SEC to announce poll schedule. "Commenting on elections when the case is in court will send wrong signals to the judiciary, SEC, and give ammunition to a sharp opposition to claim before the people that it is an 'election-centric Rythu Bharosa'," he is reported to have said. Sources said the CM did not express his ire on any of the ministers for speaking out of turn, and instead gave a strong message that he wanted to work in coordination and cooperation with all ministers and party leaders. The meeting was confident that the court will decide in favour of the govt on extending reservations to BCs in local bodies based on the caste survey conducted by the state govt. The CM and ministers were of the unanimous view that the Congress will field candidates by implementing its poll promise of 42% quota to BCs in local bodies even if the case was not in govt's favour. The CM and TPCC chief have been receiving a large number of representations on rural polls, with one section batting for MPTC and ZPTC elections followed by panchayat polls, while others seeking panchayat polls first followed by the other two categories. Hyderabad: In an informal cabinet meeting on Monday, it was decided in principle to go for panchayat, MPTC and ZPTC elections before the end of July, but only after an aggressive outreach on govt's welfare programmes. The govt is counting on Rythu Bharosa, jobs to youth and women-centric schemes to pay dividends in rural polls. The govt is waiting for resolution of the case on BC reservations in the high court to move ahead on polls. Sources said that elections may also be pushed to early August in order to give govt time to reach out to voters to showcase its welfare programmes. The cabinet will take a formal call after discussing it with Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, and other senior leaders, sources said. After the cabinet approval, the State Election Commission (SEC) would be informed that the state govt was ready to provide police security, employees needed for poll duties and other logistics. As per the Panchayat Raj Act, state govt approval to extend all logistics is mandatory for the SEC to conduct elections. Sources said the meeting also decided that it was essential to get the message out to voters about the Congress govt's sincerity on welfare programmes and that it was "not implementing promises with an eye on polls". In the backdrop of two ministers, D Anasuya and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, earlier announcing in public that election notification was expected by month-end, the CM cautioned cabinet colleagues not to talk about panchayat election dates when a case on reservations was pending in HC and also reminded them that it was for the SEC to announce poll schedule. "Commenting on elections when the case is in court will send wrong signals to the judiciary, SEC, and give ammunition to a sharp opposition to claim before the people that it is an 'election-centric Rythu Bharosa'," he is reported to have said. Sources said the CM did not express his ire on any of the ministers for speaking out of turn, and instead gave a strong message that he wanted to work in coordination and cooperation with all ministers and party leaders. The meeting was confident that the court will decide in favour of the govt on extending reservations to BCs in local bodies based on the caste survey conducted by the state govt. The CM and ministers were of the unanimous view that the Congress will field candidates by implementing its poll promise of 42% quota to BCs in local bodies even if the case was not in govt's favour. The CM and TPCC chief have been receiving a large number of representations on rural polls, with one section batting for MPTC and ZPTC elections followed by panchayat polls, while others seeking panchayat polls first followed by the other two categories.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Multi-phase voting, counting likely for local body elections
MUMBAI: The state election commission (SEC) has begun preparations for the polls to over 687 local bodies, expected to be held from October onwards. The polls are likely to be held in two to three phases and may have separate counting of votes for each phase. Preceding the polls will be the delimitation of wards. According to the state government programme, the municipal corporations, including the BMC, are expected to complete the exercise by September 4, while D-class municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats have to do this by September 1. The SEC will then hold hearings of all stakeholders. Once the ward boundaries are finalised by the SEC, the booth-wise number of voters is ascertained, followed by the reservation of the wards. 'As the district level machinery has started the process of ward formation at the local level, we have been working on the booth-wise finalisation of voters on the basis of the recent assembly election electoral rolls,' said an SEC official. 'The addition of voters, which will go on till the elections are announced, will result in an increase in the number of booths in the polling stations.' The ward formation, which is done on the basis of the 2011 census, addition/deletion of villages to a particular local body, conversion of gram panchayats to nagar panchayats and addition of administrative wards lead to changes in ward boundaries. 'For instance, newer administrative wards have been added in Mumbai since the last elections,' said an official from the urban development department. 'Then the redevelopment of colonies and construction of roads has led to changes in the maps. There are also other reasons—for instance, some villages in the Kalyan-Dombivali municipal corporation were excluded four years ago.' Multi-phase voting and phase-wise counting The SEC, which faces the Herculean task of holding polls to over 80% of local bodies together, is likely to hold them in two or three phases. The gap between these phases is also expected to be long due to the huge number of local bodies, involvement of a larger election machinery, multi-member wards leading to a rise in voting machines and the election coinciding with festivals like Dussehra and Diwali. A senior BJP minister confirmed that the SEC was considering the possibility of holding phase-wise polls. 'The delimitation exercise for the urban local bodies will be completed faster, and the SEC could hold these elections in the first phase,' he said. 'In almost 30% of the districts, there are no municipal corporations so we can hold elections of municipal councils and nagar panchayats along with district councils. Barring Mumbai, other municipal corporations have multi-member wards and will need more EVMs and election machinery. Similarly, municipal councils have a multi-member system, and their chairpersons too are elected directly by voters. Taking all this into account, more phases make sense.' The SEC is expected to propose the idea of phase-wise elections and separate counting and results during their meeting with political parties. The opposition parties are likely to oppose this, as it could benefit the ruling parties. 'The political parties are expected to be convinced by saying that a wider gap in phases may help them get more time for campaigning,' said the officer. 'Secondly, the shortage of EVMs, their storage, and manpower for their protection could be challenges before the SEC, and could be held as strong reasons for phase-wise results.' Shortage of EVMs The SEC is expected to face a shortage of EVMS in these polls. Of the 75,000 EVMs that it owns, 70,000 are in working condition against the requirement of 1.25 to 1.50 EVMs. The SEC has been tapping the option of procuring additional EVMs from the Election Commission of India or other states. It could also order new machines. 'The agency providing new machines has to be alerted, as it takes three months to get new manufactured stock,' said an SEC official. 'But if a phase-wise counting of votes is done, the same machines could be used for at least two phases.' Political importance The local body polls to 687 of 809 bodies are seen as mini assembly polls, as over 80% bodies will decide the fate of the state's political parties, especially after the split in the NCP and Shiv Sena in the last three years. The simultaneous polls are also being seen as the litmus test of the 'One Nation One Election' concept the central government has been pushing. 'The ruling parties have the upper hand for obvious reasons,' said a Sena leader. 'The ruling BJP-Shiv Sena (undivided) won most of the bodies that went to the polls during their government from 2014-2019. With the NCP joining the government, the Mahayuti has a fair chance of retaining most of the local bodies.'
