In Himachal Pradesh, unprecedented enthusiasm is being seen in rural areas regarding Panchayat elections. The increasing participation of people in this democratic process of forming the village government can be gauged from the fact that in many Panchayats the number of candidates contesting elections has become so high that the ballot papers already prepared have become small.
The competition for representation in the Panchayats of the state has increased to such an extent that a unique challenge has arisen before the State Election Commission. Due to the huge crowd of candidates, the ballot papers prepared earlier by the Commission have fallen short. In many areas, the number of candidates has become so high that now the Election Commission is being forced to hastily print ballot papers of larger size again.
Flood of contenders in the election field
This time in the state, the battle to reach from the village chaupal to the district council has become very interesting. The ballot papers initially prepared by the Election Commission generally had space only for recording the names of ten candidates. But this time everyone is surprised to see the enthusiasm of rural voters. The number of claimants has reached 15 in many panchayats and wards of the state. This long list of candidates has greatly increased the problems of the Election Commission, due to which now the work of printing new and longer ballot papers has to be started again on a war footing.
There are 15 contenders for Zilla Parishad here
This time in the election crowd, Zilla Parishad Behal ward (number 25) of Mandi district has come forward, where maximum 15 candidates are trying their luck. Here voters will get a total of 16 options including NOTA. Apart from this, 13 candidates are also contesting in Badgaon ward of Bilaspur.
More than 10 candidates for which post?
district council
11 candidates plus NOTA in one ward of Shimla
10 candidates plus NOTA in ward number 3 Gehra-6 of Chamba
10 candidates plus NOTA in Chamba's Karwal-16 ward number
12 candidates plus NOTA in Chamba's Nenikhad-12 ward number
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Quarry-14 ward number
10 candidates plus NOTA in Bandyara-1 number ward of Mandi
15 candidates plus NOTA in Behal-25 ward number of Mandi
13 candidates plus NOTA in Badgaon-5 ward number of Bilaspur
Panchayat Committee Member (BDC)
10 candidates plus NOTA at one place in Shimla
10 candidates plus NOTA in Diur-3 ward of Chamba
11 candidates plus NOTA in Bombay-3 of Bilaspur
Prime
14 candidates plus NOTA in Panjahra Panchayat of Kangra
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Indora Panchayat
13 candidates plus NOTA in Devdhar Panchayat of Mandi
11 candidates plus NOTA in Bhambla Panchayat of Mandi
Deputy head
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kihar Panchayat of Chamba
10 candidates plus NOTA in Raipur Panchayat of Chamba
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Pundar Panchayat
11 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Chhethar Panchayat
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Tambar Panchayat
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Zamanabad
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's election
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Daren
11 candidates plus NOTA in Kangra's Bhai Patihar
10 candidates plus NOTA in Kanthota of Hamirpur
11 candidates plus NOTA in Dehra gatward of Bilaspur
Long queue even for the post of head
Record level competition is being seen not only in the Zilla Parishad but also in the Panchayat Pradhan elections. 14 candidates are in the fray for the post of head in Panjahra Panchayat of Kangra district. Apart from this, the number of candidates in many constituencies of Deputy Chief and Development Block Committee member has also crossed double digits. Election experts believe that this situation has arisen due to increasing political awareness at the Panchayat level and willingness to play an active role in development works.
Voting will be held in three phases
Voting will be conducted in three phases in 3 thousand 754 panchayats of the state. Voting will be held in various panchayat areas on 26, 28 and 30 May. As the election process reaches the final stage, approximately 70 thousand 224 candidates remain in the fray.
Many results will come on the day of voting itself
After the end of voting for the posts of Pradhan, Deputy Pradhan and ward member, counting of votes will be done in the Panchayat buildings on the same day and the results will be declared. Whereas the counting of votes for Development Block Committee members and Zilla Parishad members will be completed on May 31 in the respective district and block headquarters.
