Lucknow, June 28 (UNI) Preparations for panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh have been intensified as the process of delimitation of gram panchayats commenced from today.
The Gram Panchayat-wise population will be determined between June 28-30 while objections on the proposed wards will be taken from July 4 to July 8.
Next year, there will be three-tier panchayat elections in April-May.
The affected gram panchayats will be restructured in the state due to the creation of new Nagar Panchayat, Municipality and Municipal Corporation and boundary of old bodies.
According to highly placed sources of the government here today, primary information of restructuring has been received from all districts.
"Now in the next phase of the election process, the time has been fixed for taking objections, disposal and publication of final list in relation to partial delimitation of the respective Gram Panchayat, Kshetra Panchayat and District Panchayat wards in the affected districts," sources said.
Accordingly, the Gram Panchayat-wise population will be determined between June 28-30. Preparation and publishing the proposed list of the regional constituencies (wards) of Gram Panchayat, Kshetra Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat will be published between July 1 to 3.
Objections will be received from July 4 to July 8. Objections will be disposed of from July 9 to 11. The final list of wards will be published between July 12 to July 14. All the District Magistrates have been asked to make this final list available to the Directorate of Panchayati Raj by July 16.
Sources said after the last Panchayat Election-2021, due to the creation and expansion of Nagar Panchayat, Nagar Palika Parishad and Municipal Corporation in many districts, the population of many gram panchayats has come down to 1,000.
Under the partial delimitation, the removal of gram panchayats included in urban areas and the remaining revenue villages will be included in the nearest Gram Panchayat.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, the state government can declare a group of villages with one thousand population or a group of villages as a panchayat area. If a revenue village has joined the urban body and does not meet the standard of creating a gram panchayat, then it will be included in the nearest Gram Panchayat.
Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh are a mammoth affair, covering over eight lakh posts, at different levels of panchayat. There are over 12 crore voters for the forthcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh.
In the 2021 polls, elections were held for 7.32 lakh wards across 58,189 Gram Panchayats, 75,855 wards of 826 Kshetra Panchayats, and 3,051 members of 75 Zila Panchayats.
Despite being held during the pandemic, parties like the BJP had officially declared their list of supported candidates.
However, this time, it is not just the national parties but even the regional parties who are eying the polls to strengthen their ground and "bargaining power". With elections expected around April-May 2026, as per sources, preparations have begun much earlier.
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