UP panchayat polls in 3 months: What happens to OBC quota, and what next

The Allahabad High Court has directed Uttar Pradesh to complete panchayat elections within three months, under the existing reservation framework, including the 27% quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This comes as a state commission continues its inquiry into a revised OBC reservation framework.

Panchayati Raj Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said the government will have no difficulty meeting the deadline, pointing out that ballot papers have already been printed and voter lists are ready.

The HC has directed the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to begin preparations, announce the election programme and complete the polls within three months of its October 14 judgment. The order was passed by a division bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad.

A senior SEC official told The Indian Express that the state government would first have to take a decision, after which the commission would initiate the necessary steps.

Sources said the elections would require additional manpower, including police personnel, for election duty, which could be difficult to mobilise around the Assembly elections.

Panchayati Raj Department officials told The Indian Express that the order was lengthy and was being examined. They said the department will respond after obtaining a legal opinion on the judgment.

What is the status of the OBC reservation inquiry?

After the terms of elected panchayat bodies expired in May, the state constituted the UP State Rural Local Bodies Dedicated Backward Classes Commission to determine reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions — a key step to holding elections — on May 18.

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The commission was set up in line with the Supreme Court’s triple test for OBC reservation in local body elections. It held that states must establish a dedicated commission, conduct an empirical inquiry into backwardness among OBCs in local bodies, and determine the proportion of reservation in accordance with constitutional requirements.

The five-member commission, headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ram Autar Singh, was given six months from the date its members assumed charge to complete its inquiry and submit recommendations.

As per the HC order, OBC-reserved seats cannot be treated as open seats pending the commission’s inquiry, and reservations for SCs, STs and women will continue under applicable laws.

Sources said the commission’s inquiry will continue alongside elections preparations. After receiving its report, the state government will have to examine the recommendations and take necessary legal steps to implement them.

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Indicating that the report was expected within a month, Rajbhar said, “Anything can be said only after the Backward Classes Commission submits its report.”

What happens to gram pradhans appointed administrators?

The HC rejected petitions seeking to quash the May 25 government order invoking Section 12(3-A) of the UP Panchayati Raj Act to appoint administrators, including outgoing Pradhans, to their respective gram panchayats.

The court also said the three-month deadline does not extend administrators’ tenure beyond statutory limits. Any interim administrative arrangement must comply with the law.

Rajbhar said outgoing gram pradhans would continue as administrators until the next elections take place.

How big is the panchayat election exercise?

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Around 12.58 crore voters are expected to participate in the polls; sources said the exercise is likely to last around a month.

In the 2021 polls, elections were held for 7.32 lakh gram panchayat ward seats across 58,189 gram panchayats; 75,855 kshetra panchayat ward seats across 826 kshetra panchayats; and 3,051 seats in 75 zila panchayats.

Unlike Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, panchayat polls are conducted using ballot papers, adding to the scale of preparations, including printing and distributing ballot papers, transporting election material and deploying polling personnel across rural areas.

Though panchayat elections are not formally contested on party symbols, they remain important for political mobilisation and building grassroots networks ahead of the Assembly polls.