Allahabad High Court orders UP panchayat polls within three months

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday welcomed the Allahabad High Court's direction to hold panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh within three months. Both parties accused the BJP government of delaying the polls because it feared defeat.

Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister OP Rajbhar also welcomed the order, saying the government would respond after studying it in detail. The court directed the State Election Commission to conduct the elections within three months.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Aradhana Mishra 'Mona' said the decision was an important step towards strengthening democracy. She said it also raised serious questions about the state government's functioning as the five-year term of the panchayats had ended, but elections had not been held.

Mishra alleged that the BJP government was affecting people's democratic rights by postponing the elections and retaining outgoing village heads as administrators.

She claimed the government feared that rural discontent would be reflected in the panchayat elections and could also affect the 2027 Assembly elections.

Mishra also expressed concern over the collection of data for reservation for Other Backward Classes, saying the High Court had questioned whether the exercise was adequate.

The Congress demanded that the panchayat elections be held within three months in line with the court's direction. It also called for the collection of adequate and reliable data for OBC reservation and protection of the constitutional rights of backward classes.

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand also accused the BJP of repeatedly postponing the elections because it feared defeat. He said the polls should have been held in May or June, but the government had continued to delay them until October.

"The BJP has been continuously postponing panchayat elections for fear of defeat," Chand claimed. He added that the party respected the judiciary's decision and would not comment on the ruling. Chand claimed the panchayat poll outcome would be similar to that of the Assembly elections and asserted that the BJP would lose both.

Welcoming the order, Rajbhar said, "We will give a detailed response when we see the full order."

A bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Garima Prashad passed the direction on Wednesday. The petitioner had sought an order asking the State Election Commission to submit a detailed, time-bound schedule to complete the panchayat election process well before the end of the district panchayats' tenure. The court has now directed that the polls be held within three months.