Karnataka Gram Panchayat Polls: To be or not to be?

Election Season

Flush from the recent legislative council elections and the bypolls in two assembly constituencies, political parties are now looking to fight the gram panchayat elections due shortly.

Some 5,800 gram panchayats are to face elections even as the State Election Commission is awaiting the outcome of a petition before the High Court filed by the Congress seeking that polls be held, which the ruling BJP is not in favour of.

Though the polls were scheduled soon after the term of gram panchayat members ended in June, the Covid pandemic delayed the exercise.

The gram panchayat elections are often seen as a barometer to gauge the public mood in rural areas. Earlier this week, Health & Family Welfare Minister K Sudhakar said experts wanted the gram panchayat elections to be put off till February.

According to him, apprehensions have been expressed that conducting the polls might lead to “door delivery of the virus” as door-to-door campaigns are crucial during such local polls.

BJP prepares ground

However, the BJP core committee that met this week discussed the gram panchayat polls, underlining how the ruling party was ready for it.

BJP vice president Arvind Limbavali said the party will hold ‘Kutumba Milana’ programmes in all gram panchayats. The saffron party BJP hopes to galvanise support by highlighting the achievements of party’s administration at the Centre and in the state.

Plea in HC

Noting that a petition was still pending in high court, Limbavali said that BJP has appointed five members in every booth in most of the GPs and the rest will be appointed soon. Page Pramukhs will also be in place to ensure votes for the party.

“In each of our rural mandals, war rooms are being set up. Similarly, call centres will come up at all mandals ahead of elections,” he said.

The Congress is pointing at the recently-concluded elections to contend that the gram panchayat polls can be held safely, in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even the State Election Commission, in a submission to the High Court, has expressed its preparedness to hold elections. “Our SOPs are ready to conduct the elections during the pandemic,” State Election Commissioner B Basavaraju said.

Congress strategies

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Saleem Ahmed said the party was geared up for the rural local polls.

“District to booth-level units were restructured recently, and we have asked our units to be ready. Regular meetings are being held to strategise for the upcoming elections,” he said.

Apart from local issues that take the centre stage during gram panchayat polls, the Congress wants to corner the BJP by highlighting corruption, failure in handling the Covid-19 pandemic, power tariff hike and fund allocation to rural constituencies. According to Ahmed, the Congress won 70% (63,980) of the 91,402 seats in gram panchayats across the state in 2015.

The JD(S), however, is yet to get its head around the gram panchayat elections. The party’s state president H K Kumaraswamy noted that there was uncertainty on when elections will be held. “Soon after the Sira and Rajarajeshwarinagar bypoll results are out, the JD(S) will concentrate its efforts on gram panchayat elections,” he said.