Assam Panchayat Polls Pushed To Feb 2025, Voters List By Dec: Himanta

Panchayat elections in Assam will be pushed back further to February 2025 with the voters list expected around December 30, this year, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed on Tuesday. The decision was taken during the Assam cabinet meeting.

This comes after he had previously said that the long pending panchayat elections in the state will be completed by December 31, 2024, stressing strictly to adhere to the stipulated time.

Addressing media persons today, Sarma said, “We discussed on the panchayat elections. We have decided that the voters list for the elections will be published by December 30, 2024. If this happens, we can complete the entire election process by February 10, 2025.”

“The schedule of the elections will be announced by the first week of January. It will be held in two phases. We will aim at completing the process by February 10,” he added.

With panchayat elections in Assam now due since the end of the previous terms, the Chief Minister had stressed on diligent completion of an extensive delimitation process at the block level during an all-district commissioners' meeting in Guwahati in July. However, he directed that the overall number of panchayats should not come down.

Also Read: DCs Across Assam Directed To Take Over Panchayat Responsibilities

Sarma had said, "An important issue is that we have to reorganize the panchayats. I have received complaints from one or two districts that based on the population, the number of panchayats will come down. Zila Parishads will not be affected, but panchayats are likely to come down. However, the total number of panchayats decreasing in a district is not something we want."

Previous Developments

Earlier, the Chief Minister had discussed that an extensive delimitation drive would be carried out at the development block level before the panchayat elections. Addressing DCs, he pointed out that the process should not hurt the infrastructure already present at panchayats.

Also Read: Ahead Of Panchayat Polls, Assam CM Urges Diligent Delimitation Process

"If required, we will bring an amendment to the Act, that, provided the total number of panchayats are not coming down, whichever is more – new population pattern or the number of panchayats as of today – so that we can protect the number of panchayats. We have to make sure that we do not lose infrastructure. Hence, Panchayat delimitation should be taken very seriously," said Sarma.

"We have to complete elections within December 31 according to the stipulated timeline. We do not want to hear that Assam is not conducting panchayat elections. So we don’t want to embarrass each other, we have to make the schedule so that everything is completed before December 31," he added.

Also Read: Panchayat Elections In 6 Months But After LS Polls: Ranjeet Dass