Panchayat, local body elections in Rajasthan to be completed by November 15

The long-awaited elections to Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies in Rajasthan will be completed by November 15 this year, following the submission of a report by the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Political Representation Commission in August. The reservation of seats in the polls will be determined based on the Commission’s report.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government submitted the schedule for panchayat and local body elections in the Rajasthan High Court during the hearing on a batch of public interest petitions on Monday (July 20, 2026). The High Court had on November 14, 2025, directed the State government to complete the delimitation process by December 31 and hold these polls by April 15, 2026.

After the court’s strict observations, the Local Self-Government Department and Panchayati Raj Department filed an affidavit stating that the classification of wards for reservation would be completed within 10 days after the submission of OBC Commission’s report.

The reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and women will be completed through the lottery process by August 15, after which the State Election Commission will initiate the process for conducting the polls, according to the affidavit.

When the Division Bench led by Acting Chief Justice S.P. Sharma asked for specific dates, the Advocate-General stated that the local body elections would be notified on August 17 and held by September 20, followed by panchayat election notification on September 23 and completion of polls by November 15.

The petitions over the delay in conducting elections were filed by a citizen, Giriraj Singh Devanda, and former MLA Sanyam Lodha. The High Court had on April 2 this year issued contempt notices to the State Election Commission and Election Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh, taking exception to the delay despite its previous order.

Elections are due for approximately 14,000 village panchayats and over 300 municipalities in the state. The State government informed the court that delimitation of local bodies and the revision of voter lists had already been completed, while holding the polls in phases would require about 50 days.

The court disposed of the petitions after recording the State government’s assurance on the timeline. The Opposition Congress has targeted the BJP government over the delay in holding the polls and alleged that the postponement of elections amounted to an attack on democracy.

While the State government had cited administrative and legal constraints during the hearings in the High Court, the Congress leaders said the BJP feared its defeat in the elections because of its “misgovernance” during the last two-and-a-half years.