Berhampur: The three-tier panchayat elections in the district have posed stiff challenges to all the three major political parties. The district has 503 panchayats comprising 7,101 wards.
Over 50 per cent of the seats for the posts of ward members will be reserved for women in this 2022 panchayat election. This has heated up politics in the area as all three political parties have started making preparations to win the elections.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP and the Congress are way ahead in election preparations. While the BJP and the Congress have formed block level organisational committees, the ruling BJD is lagging behind and yet to form these committees.
District BJD leaders, however, dismissed these claims stating that very soon the new block level committees will be formed and the names of new office bearers will be announced.
BJD MLAs have been given the charge of selecting candidates and conducting organisational meetings in their respective areas. The BJP leaders have started touring various areas and are galvanizing the party organisation.
The Congress’s organisation is weak for a long period.
However, Sanakhemundi Congress MLA Ramesh Chandra Jena who is the district president is learnt to be making serious preparations to challenge both the parties. He is touring various constituencies in phases and rallying the party workers. The three parties have made elaborate plans to win the elections.
The BJD is banking on central negligence, failure of the Modi government in controlling hike in fuel, LPG price and essentials while the BJP is preparing to target the ruling party on misuse of central funds, deteriorating law and order, scam in central housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
The Congress targets both the parties on inept administration both at the centre and the state and anti-people policies of both the parties Sources said, over 3,550 women will be elected as ward members in this election.
Nominating 7,101 candidates for the posts of ward members has become a headache for all political parties in this election. The restrictions on the reservation of candidates laid down in the revised Panchayat Act have sparked resentment among party leaders and workers.
The wards will not be reconstituted at panchayat level in the coming elections. Meanwhile, the district administration has published the reservation list and fixed October 16 as the last date for filing complaints.
The district administration will send a final list to the State Election Commission October 26 after making a review of the list on the basis of available suggestions and grievances.
The whole process will end October 30. However, election dates are yet to be announced for posts of 69 Zilla Parishad members, 22 block chairpersons, 503 sarpanchs, naib sarpanchs and samiti members in the district.
PNN