The Punjab government may conduct Rural Panchayat elections in January 2024. A notification regarding this has been sent to all DC offices by the Punjab Election Commission. Earlier, there was a controversy in August regarding the Rural panchayat elections, where the government dissolved the panchayats six months ago. The matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and the government had reconsidered its decision.
As per the notification sent by the Punjab Election Commission to the DC offices, the final voter list is to be published by January 7. Prior to this, voter lists were to be prepared from December 11 to December 18. According to the new notification, the draft notification of the voter lists is to be prepared by December 20. Similarly, claims and objections in the draft notification are to be cleared by January 5. The final voter list will be published on January 7. Consequently, Rural panchayat elections in Punjab might take place in January.
The total number of panchayats in Punjab is 13,268, where elections are to be held. The Rural panchayat elections were held in January 2019, and the sarpanches took charge afterward. Their tenure is ending in January 2024. The Punjab government doesn’t want to delay these elections and might conduct the gram panchayat elections in January 2024.
Previously, there was a dispute in August 2023 regarding the Rural panchayat elections. The government decided to dissolve the panchayats on August 10 under Section 29-E of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, with the permission of the Governor, even though their tenure was until January 2024.Subsequently, some panchayat officials approached the High Court. The sarpanches argued that all panchayats in Punjab were improperly and unlawfully dissolved before the completion of the elected representatives’ tenure
