Polls of more than 10,000 Gram Panchayat to be held on December 27 this year in Gujarat exactly a year ahead of the Assembly polls would prove to be a litmus test for the popularity of Vijay Rupani Government post demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs10,000 denomination currency notes.
On Monday the state election commission announced 10,318 Gram Panchayat across Gujarat. The notification for the polls would be announced on December 5 and last date for filing nominations would be December 10. Counting of votes and declaration of result would be on December 29. Gujarat has a total 14,017 Gram Panchayats in 18,584 villages across the state.
Though the gram panchayat polls are not fought on party symbols and candidates need to contest in their personal capacity, given the fluid political situation the panchayat polls in Gujarat could prove to be last big test for ruling party and the opposition in the state before next year’s Assembly polls.
“The elections would be held to panchayats whose term ends on March 31, 2017, or for those seats that have been lying vacant for last one year,” EC said in a press statement. The electorates elect one sarpanch and a specified number of panchayat members to manage village level-related matters.
Meanwhile, voting for the by-polls of 137 seats of two municipalities as well as different Taluka and District Panchayats were conducted on Sunday. Result of these by-polls would be declared on Tuesday. This by-polls too is important for the ruling party as first time people in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home-state had voted post demonetisation decision of BJP ruled union Government.
As many as 93 seats of municipalities, 37 seats of Taluka Panchayats and 7 seats of District Panchayat went for the polls on Sunday.
These seats spread across North Gujarat, Central Gujarat, South Gujarat and Saurashtra & Kutch region (Western Gujarat).
Sources in the state election commission informed that more than 60 per cent voting registered in the by-polls of municipalities while around 58 per cent and 65 per cent voting recorded in district and taluka panchayat polls. Voting was peaceful during by-polls across the state, claimed a senior official in the state election commission.