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As many as 3.50 lakh candidates are in the fray for the first phase of panchayat elections in UP for 2.21 lakh posts in 20 districts. The returning officers are sifting through nominations papers, with the process still far from done, as affidavits of candidates also have to be uploaded online this time. The State Election Commission has deployed 23 IAS and PCS officers in 20 districts while additional observers have been posted in the districts with more than 20 development blocks.
The total number of candidates in four phases for close to 8.69 lakh posts of the three-tier panchayat bodies is likely to reach around 17 lakh. In comparison, around 4,850 candidates contested for the 403 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats in 2017.
"If we compare just the block panchayat, zila panchayat and gram pradhan seats in the first phase, the number is 10 times that of the state's Vidhan Sabha," Additional Election Commissioner Ved Prakash Verma said.
The electoral battle for panchayat elections is going to be significant as all the major political parties are openly backing candidates this time. This has made the panchayat elections a virtual semifinal for the assembly polls next year. Among those in the race are the Aam Aadmi Party, AIMIM and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, which are making their debut in the state.
According to SEC sources, enforcement of the Covid protocol is going to be an uphill task for the administration given the large number of candidates and voters. There are already reports of long queues and unruly crowds scrambling for forms before nomination deadlines, without masks and flouting the social distancing norms. The SEC, before the commencement of the nomination process began, had issued instructions to all district magistrates for compliance of the Covid protocol. However, the candidates and their supporters have barely followed the norms.
Elections are being held for gram pradhans, members of gram panchayat, kshetra committee and zila panchayat. Officials expect at least half the posts of gram panchayat members to go unopposed and 18-20 per cent to go uncontested.
Verma said there was another difference from previous years. "Earlier districts used to be distributed into four sections for four phases - in other words, they had a block-wise model. This year, there is a district-wise model, meaning one entire district is going to election in a single phase."
Verma said the SEC was aware of the problem of Covid norms being violated. "We are examining the situation and are issuing directions to the respective DMs as COVID-19 cases are once again increasing at a fast pace."
In the first phase, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Hathras, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, Mahoba, Prayagraj, Rae Bareli, Hardoi, Ayodhya, Shravasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Bhadohi will vote on April 15.
The second phase will see voting on April 19, the third phase on April 26 and the fourth phase on April 29.