Panchayat polls rescheduled in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand will now be held on July 24 and 28 after the Uttarakhand High Court vacated its stay on them.

A revised notification rescheduling the polls was issued by the state election commission here on Saturday.

According to the revised notification, polling for the three-tier panchayat elections will be held in two phases on July 24 and 28 and the counting of votes will take place on July 31.

The filing of nominations will begin on July 2 and would go on till July 5, State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar said.

The Uttarakhand High Court had put a stay on panchayat elections in the state on June 23 while hearing petitions citing irregularities in the state's reservation rosters for the polls.

The high court's stay had come at a time when the dates for panchayat elections had already been announced and the model code of conduct had already come into force in the 12 districts going to polls.

According to the earlier schedule polling was to be held in two rounds on July 10 and 15.

However, the high court vacated the stay on Friday last after the state government made its submission on the reservation rosters before the court.