On Wednesday, Punjab & Haryana High Court refused to stay the Panchayat elections across the state. However, the court did stay the election process in select villages where complaints had been registered regarding complications faced by candidates in filing their nominations.
The High Court received approximately 250 petitions alleging irregularities in the election process. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for October 14. The Punjab State Election Commission had announced that the Gram Panchayat elections would be held on October 15, with nominations opening on September 27. The elections were set to take place for 13,237 ‘Sarpanches’ & 83,437 ‘Panches’.
Earlier, on September 29, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly & Congress leader, Partap Singh Bajwa, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for the complications faced by candidates in filing nominations.
He accused government officials of negligence, leading to uncertainty among candidates regarding reservations & other nomination-related issues in various panchayat segments. Speaking to ANI, Bajwa said, “On the floor of the house, the Chief Minister of Punjab assured that the Panchayat elections would be conducted in a free & fair manner. We informed the State Election Commissioner that for the past two days, no Panchayat Secretary, BDPO, or Tehsildar have been present in their respective offices.”
Additionally, candidates from AAP & Congress clashed in Zira town, Ferozepur district, Punjab Police confirmed on October 2. The police stated that there was stone pelting between the two groups when the candidates came to file their nominations for the Panchayat elections.