Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa State Election Commission (GSEC) has proposed May 21 as the date to hold the elections to the State’s 190 village panchayats. The five-year-term of 189 panchayats ends in May this year. The last elections were held on May 16, 2012.
The government last year decided to create a new panchayat of Quelossim, bifurcating Cortalim and Quelossim , which has taken the number to 190.
“The five-year-term of the village panchayats ends in the last week of May and as per the Constitution we have to conduct the elections before the term ends. We have proposed May 21 as the day to hold the elections,” State Election Commissioner RK Srivastava said, adding that a decision on the proposal would be taken by the new government which will be formed after March 11.
He said the model code of conduct for the election would come into force in April, a month before the elections.
The March 11 results could have a great impact on the VP elections, considering that people prefer to vote in favour of a candidate backed by the party in power.
Though panchayat elections under the Panchayati Raj Act should be strictly conducted on apolitical lines, political parties, rarely adhere to this in spirit and back candidates seeking to build up the grassroots, though the election is held without any party symbol.
After Zilla Panchayat elections were held on party lines in 2015, it will be interesting to see, whether the new government favours panchayat elections to be fought on party symbol by bringing in the necessary amendment to the Act.
“There is no provision in the Panchayat Raj Act to hold elections on party lines. The elections have to be apolitical,” Srivasatav said.
