UP panchayat elections 2021: Voting for first phase of polls to be held on April 15 with ballot papers

Lucknow: Voting for the first of the four-phase Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections will be held on Thursday (April 15) in 18 districts with ballot papers. Polling will happen from 7 am to 6 pm. The districts that may go to the polls are Ayodhya, Agra, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Allahabad, Bareilly, Bhadohi, Mahoba, Rampur, Raebareli, Shravasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Saharanpur, Hardoi, and Hathras.

For the put up of Zila panchayat members, 11,442 candidates are within the fray from 779 wards, whereas as many as 81,747 candidates are contesting in 19,313 wards of kshetra panchayats. For the gram panchayat, there are 1,14,142 candidates for 14,789 posts. For gram panchayat wards, there are 1,26,613 candidates for 1,86,583 seats.

More than 3.33 lakh candidates within the fray in over 2.21 lakh seats within the first phase for the posts of Zila panchayat (district council) members, kshetra (block) panchayat members, village panchayat heads, and wards.

In view of the coronavirus state of affairs, the State Election Commission (SEC) earlier in March instructed PTI that no more than 5 individuals would be allowed to accompany a candidate throughout door-to-door campaigning for the panchayat elections.

Additional Election Commissioner Ved Prakash Verma reportedly mentioned a three-member crew was shaped below the extra district magistrates to make sure the directives issued by the SEC have been being adopted.

The chief medical officers have been made nodal officers on the district degree, and stress has been laid on the COVID-19 prevention.

Apart from the BJP, BSP, Samajwadi Party, and the Congress, the events like AIMIM, Aam Aadmi Party, and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad’s Azad Samaj Party are additionally making their debut within the state panchayat polls. 

The AIMIM will contest polls in alliance with the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, The candidates will, nevertheless, contest on ‘free symbols’ given the Election Commission.

During polling, the voters could have to put up a masks and keep social distancing. Instructions have additionally been issued to make circles at a distance of six toes on the polling centres.

The Allahabad High Court had requested the state authorities to full the panchayat-election course of by May 25. 

BJP MP seeks deferment of Panchayat polls 

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Mohanlalganj, Kaushal Kishore, has requested the state election fee (SEC) to defer the Panchayat elections by a month.

Kaushal Kishore tweeted that as a substitute of conducting elections, saving the lives of individuals ought to be of prime concern. He mentioned that 1000’s are within the grip of illness.

In a tweet, he mentioned, “The crematoriums are flooded with dead bodies,” whereas tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

This comes a day after state minister Brijesh Pathak wrote a letter to senior well being officers, underlining the poor state of the well being system within the state capital amid a surge within the COVID-19 instances.

(With Agency Inputs)