Bhubaneswar: After raising expenditure limit for candidates and polling time, the State Election Commission on Tuesday announced that the panchayat elections will be held in 6,794 gram panchayats (GPs) barring 7 GPs in the state.
Speaking to mediapersons, here on Tuesday, State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Rabindra Nath Sahu said the panchayat polls, scheduled for next year, will be held in total 91,916 wards excluding 111 wards.
The elections to three-tier panchayatiraj institutions (PRIs) will not be held in seven GPs in three districts as those have been included in NACs. Those GPs include four from Remuna in Balasore district, two from Odanga in Nayagarh and one from Bijepur in Bargarh.
In 2017, the elections were held in 6,801 panchayats including 92,027 wards.
On Monday, the SEC issued new guidelines for the panchayat polls raising the expenditure limit of the candidates and increasing the polling time. As per the new norms, a candidate contesting for Zilla Parishad member post can spend upto Rs 5 lakh while the expenditure for sarpanch and panchayat samiti posts has been capped at Rs 2 lakh.
Similarly, Zilla Parishad member candidates can use five jeeps or cars and 10 bikes for campaigning while candidates for panchayat samiti member posts are allowed two jeeps or cars and five bikes and for sarpanch posts two jeeps or cars and five bikes.
The polling time has been increased by an hour. It will be held from 7 am to 1 pm.
Also Read: Odisha Panchayat Poll: SEC Raises Expenditure Limit For Candidates & Increases Polling Time
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