Panchayat Polls In Odisha: Govt To Submit Final Reservation List To Poll Panel Soon, Says Minister

Bhubaneswar: In another step towards facilitating panchayat elections early next year, the state government will submit the final reservation list for PRIs to Election Commission soon.

Speaking to media persons, here on Tuesday, Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena said the preparation of list for different posts of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) like sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad by the department is underway. The final reservation list will be submitted to the Election Commission soon, he added.

Stating that the government has already submitted the reservation list for Zilla Parishad posts to the Election Commission, Jena said announcement of the election date for panchayat elections was getting delayed as the lists were being prepared as per the process ordered by the Orissa High Court on the direction of the Supreme Court.

He further said since the apex court has directed that the total reservation must not exceed 50% of the seats in PRIs, the process was getting delayed. After the government submits the final list of reserved seats, the Election Commission would announced the poll dates, he added.