The Punjab cabinet on Thursday gave nod to the proposal to amend Rule 12 of the Punjab Panchayat Election Rules 1994, thereby debarring the candidates to contest elections of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) on party symbols.
The cabinet was of the view that contesting elections on party symbols led to many unwanted incidents, besides political groupism in panchayats stalling utilisation of funds and grants leaving huge amounts of unused money.
It affected developmental works in rural areas. The political affiliations also caused disunity in the working of panchayats which leads to their incomplete quorum thereby leading to non-utilisation of grants.
After the meeting, finance minister Harpal Cheema, said, “The decision will be applicable on the election of sarpanches and panches. It will not be applicable for zila parishads and panchayat samitis. The move will ensure harmony in villages and voters were not divided along political lines. The election of sarpanch and panch will not be fought on political symbols but on symbols to be allotted by the state election commission as per the prescribed performa.” He added there was no discussion about educational qualification for sarpanches.
An official spokesperson added, “Political affiliations of panchayat members create instances of violent clashes during and after elections among various party groups at village level which deteriorates the law and order situation and also adversely affects the social fabric of rural society.”
Even though panchayat elections are not usually contested on party symbols, the candidate has the option to seek allotment of party symbols. There was a view that it led to factionalism, which created roadblocks in the development works.
Panchayat elections are due to be held in the state. Although the last panchayat elections in the state were held in Jan 2019, the five-year term of a gram panchayat starts from the first date of its meeting.
The elections for panchayats were to be held by Dec 31. Earlier, the Punjab govt withdrew its notification on the dissolution of panchayats on Aug 31, 2023, when it failed to justify the premature dissolution of panchayats in the high court. The buzz about the panchayat polls had died down ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Last week, the Punjab State Election Commission issued the statement that it was busy making suitable logistical arrangements for conducting the general elections to the gram panchayats in the state.
