Election Commission all set to hold panchayat polls in Jan-Feb

By Our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 30: Filly, putting all speculations to rest, State Election Commission (SEC) has said it was ready for holding panchayat polls.

Though it has not come up with a formal announcement yet, SEC plans to schedule the elections between 15th January and 15th February next year. And for good reasons, as most examitions start after mid February 2018.

Proposed to be held in two or three phases, elections will be held to all panchayats across the State, except Goalpara district. Goalpara witnessed widespread violence during the 2013 panchayat polls over inclusion of the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council areas in the poll process. Subsequently, elections in the district were deferred, and the term of panchayat bodies have not been over yet.

Ballot papers will be used extensively for the local polls, even as the SEC is examining the overall ground situation in this regard. Police are also assessing the overall security situation to ensure that the polls are held in a peaceful manner.

While electoral rolls were published across the districts on Tuesday, SEC has submitted a proposal to the State government for sanctioning Rs 100 core for the purpose of conducting the polls.

Once the notification is formally done, the entire election process – filing of nomition papers, withdrawal of nomition papers, scrutiny of nomition papers, holding of elections and announcement of results – will have to be completed within a period of 30 days.

Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner HN Bora told The Sentinel that the Commission is ready to hold the panchayat polls.

“We’re hoping to complete the election process by 15th February next year as examitions start after that. DCs have been asked to transfer officials posted in a particular district for more than three years. However, there is a little difficulty in transferring all these officials as some of them are involved in update of NRC,” Bora explained. 

The panchayat elections will be the first major polls to check the incumbent’s popularity after the 2016 Assembly elections in which it swept to power in Dispur. There were, of course, three by-elections – Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat, Dhemaji Legislative Assembly constituency and Baithalangsu Legislative Assembly constituency – in all of which the three-party ruling alliance came up trumps.