Local Body Elections (India) are elections conducted to elect local body representatives in India as per the provisions of 73rd amendment of Constitution of India in states and union territories of the country. State Election commissions conducts these elections as per the procedures laid down in State laws. With one of the largest democracies, India has 3.1 million elected representatives out of which 1.3 million representatives are women in 2,50,000 government bodies.

History and Objective

Local Body Elections (India) are conducted periodically in states and union territories of India as per the provision made in Constitution.[1] The reasons for forming these local bodies are 1. Decentralisation of process of democracy and 2. Power devolution at local levels. Local Body Elections are conducted by State Election Commission.[2][3]

Levels

Local Body Elections (India) are performed at following levels as per the local population:[4][5][6][7]

  • Elections to Municipal Corporations - With population of more than 5,00,000.
  • Municipality Elections - With population of 1,00,000 to 5,00,000.
  • Elections to Nagar Panchayat - Village Council or gram panchayat.
  • Zila Parishad Elections - Block council clusters.
  • Village Panchayat Elections - Village gram panchayat.
  • Panchayat Samiti Elections - Block level.

Challenges

Following are the challenges faced by Panchayat Raj Institutions or other local governance systems;[8][1][9]

  • Local leaders don't get support from Government.
  • No cooperation from institutional organisations like district planning boards created for improvement of planning in local areas due to they being non functional or not prioritising Panchayat Raj Institutions or other local governance systems.
  • Restricted efforts on education of elected representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions or other local governance systems on their constitutional rights with main focus being trainings on government schemes and programmes.
  • As the Central and State Governments had created separate organisation structures relating to education, health, and other public services for their implementation, the powers and roles of elected representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions or other local governance systems have been diluted.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Power to the people—the journey of Panchayati Raj Institutions". idronline.org. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Civic polls should not be held in a way that will benefit a particular party, Cal HC tells State Election Commission". telegraphindia.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Local body polls in all states must be held before expiry of term, Supreme Court says". Deccan Herald. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Profile - Local Government - Know India: National Portal of India". knowindia.india.gov.in. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Local Body Election Process in India". elections.in. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Arora, Subhash C.; Prabhakar, R. K. (1997). "A Study of Municipal Council Elections in India: Socioeconomic Background of Women Candidates in Rohtak, Haryana". Asian Survey. pp. 918–926. doi:10.2307/2645613. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "A fact: We have 3.1 million elected representatives and 1.3 million women representatives". Gaonconnection | Your Connection with Rural India. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Poll position: On SC order on local body elections". The Hindu. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "GHMC polls: Why do citizens not care about municipal elections?". The News Minute. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
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