Guwahati, Jan. 12: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the panchayat elections, which were earlier expected to be conducted in the state in February this year, have to be deferred to a date after the HSLC and Higher Secondary (HS) exams are over.
The development comes after the Gauhati High Court on Sunday gave its consent to hold the panchayat elections in Assam, excluding nine panchayats in Sribhumi district (erstwhile Karimganj) that are currently under court cases.
This court’s verdict paves the way for the State Election Commission to hold polls in the remaining panchayats of the state.
“At present, holding the panchayat polls in the state is not feasible because the environment will not be conducive for students to appear in the exams, which are of great significance to them,” the chief minister told mediapersons.
“If the notification to hold the polls could have been issued on January 2 or 3, 2025, then, the elections could have been held about 10 days ahead of the matriculation and HS exams, which are scheduled to be held from mid-February onwards,” Sarma said.
“So, the panchayat elections will have to be postponed to a date after the exams, possibly before or after Rongali Bihu in mid-April,” he said.
Notably, the final electoral rolls for the panchayat elections in Assam were released by the State Election Commission last month after taking into account the delimitation of gaon panchayat, anchalik panchayat and zilla parishad constituencies across 27 districts, excluding Sixth Schedule and municipal areas of the state.
An official statement issued here had said that after disposal of all claims and objections received for 27 districts, as many as 1,80,14,913 voters have been included in the updated list, comprising 90,60,640 male voters, 89,53,865 female voters and 408 third-gender voters.