Bihar Panchayat polls only after delimitation exercise: CM Samrat Choudhary

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Monday said the Panchayat Raj elections will be conducted only after the ongoing delimitation exercise is completed, which is expected to reshape local administrative and electoral boundaries across Bihar.

Addressing the ‘Gram Sansad Bihar Chapter’ programme in Patna, Choudhary said the process of redrawing Panchayat boundaries is currently underway, and no election-related process will begin until it is completed. He said the exercise is being carried out with a population benchmark of 7,500, and Panchayat boundaries will be reorganised accordingly.

The announcement assumes significance for aspirants preparing to contest elections for posts such as Mukhiya, Sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti member and Zila Parishad member, as changes in boundaries and population distribution are likely to alter the electoral landscape.

The Chief Minister pointed out that several Panchayats in Bihar cover large geographical areas and have substantial populations, making administrative reorganisation necessary. Citing his own village as an example, Choudhary said it has a population of around 20,000 but is currently grouped with three other villages to form a single Panchayat.

He said a request for delimitation had been made to the State Election Commission and that the process had now commenced. The delimitation exercise could lead to changes in the composition and boundaries of existing Panchayats.

Some villages could be shifted from one Panchayat to another, while new Panchayats could also be created or existing ones reorganised. Such changes could affect the electoral calculations for Mukhiya, Sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections.

For prospective candidates, the final administrative boundaries will therefore be important before they formulate detailed election strategies. The precise electoral landscape will become clearer only after the delimitation process is completed.

During the programme, Choudhary also spoke about the importance of elected Panchayat representatives in grassroots governance.

He said that although people often consider the Prime Minister, Chief Minister or District Magistrate to be the most powerful figures in the administrative system, the Mukhiya plays a particularly important role at the grassroots level.

Choudhary said the Mukhiya carries significant responsibilities and that contesting a Mukhiya election is not easy. He observed that elections become more competitive as they move closer to the grassroots, with local relationships and social dynamics playing an important role in contests for ward members and Mukhiyas.

Referring to the nature of grassroots democracy, he said voters often keep their choices private, sometimes even from neighbours or family members.

Choudhary also discussed the responsibilities of Panchayat representatives and the availability of government resources. He said that while, as Chief Minister, he would want the Centre to provide all the funds required by Bihar, such a situation was not practically possible.

Similarly, he said representatives at the Zila Parishad and Panchayat levels must recognise that government resources are limited. According to him, people assign responsibilities to elected representatives and ultimately hold the power to choose who represents them.

Discussing Bihar's Panchayati Raj structure, Choudhary also claimed that the specific office of Sarpanch, as it exists in Bihar, is unique to the state and is not found in other states.

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