The much awaited 2-tier panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh are likely to be delayed for a year.
The panchayat polls, which are scheduled to be held in April-May 2026, are expected to be held in 2027 after the assembly polls.
According to sources here on Saturday, as the census would commence soon after the end of ECI’s SIR in UP, the authorities will have no scope to conduct the panchayat polls.
The Census house listings will be conducted from April 1 to September 30 for the 2027 Census. The SIR will also end by March, so there will be no time left for the panchayat polls.
In such a situation, the government and the State Election Commission will not have sufficient staff and officials to conduct the Panchayat elections. The slow pace of the government and political parties also indicates the same.
According to sources, the house listing process of the Census will continue until September. Before that, the party will begin preparations for the 2027 assembly elections. Consequently, all political parties, including the Samajwadi Party, are not in favor of holding panchayat elections after September.
BJP sources say that both the party and the government are not in favor of holding elections on time. Holding Panchayat elections before the Assembly elections carries several political risks. First, political rivalry among party workers in villages will increase. Second, disgruntled party workers, upset by the lack of candidate selection, could weaken the party by seeking tickets from other parties.
If the party’s performance in the District Panchayat and Area Panchayat elections is poor, it will have a direct impact on the Assembly elections. The experience of the first phase of the Panchayat elections in 2021 was also not good for the Yogi government and the BJP.
According to sources, in the recent meeting of the core group of the BJP party and the government, the issue of postponing the Panchayat elections till after the Assembly elections was also discussed.
Besides, the State Election Commission has written to the Panchayati Raj Department to determine the reservations for the Panchayat elections and submit the list. The Panchayati Raj Department will form a committee to determine the reservations. The committee will determine the reservations for 2026 based on the 2021 and 2015 Panchayat reservations.
However, the reservation process takes approximately two months, but the department has yet to even begin forming a committee.
A senior department official has indicated that no preparations are currently underway for the Panchayat elections. There has been no indication from the highest levels of the government either.
Public representatives associated with Panchayati Raj institutions are also reporting that the government and the organization have indicated to them that elections will not be held immediately.
Consequently, preparations for Panchayat elections in the districts have virtually ceased. BJP officials and workers are busy with the SIR and VB GRAM G schemes instead of the Panchayat elections.
Around 50,000 to 60,000 teachers, Siksha Mitras, accountants, and other staff will be deployed for house-listing in 75 districts across Uttar Pradesh. In districts, everyone from the district magistrate to the chief development officer, SDM, tehsildar, municipal commissioner, executive officer, and block development officer will be deployed for the census work.
On January 22, the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India released the schedule for Census 2027. The 16th census will be conducted next year, in 2027. For the first time, it will be completely digital. House listing will be conducted from April 1, 2026, to September 30, 2026. The second phase of population counting will take place from February 1 to 28, 2027.
Meanwhile, the work of voter list revision for the Panchayat elections will also be completed on March 27. The final voter lists will be published on this day.
The government and the State Election Commission had been preparing to hold Panchayat elections in April-May, but now a large number of administrative, educational, and staff will be engaged in house listing for the census.