Jaipur, Oct 28 (IANS) Rajasthan Congress has accused the state government of deliberately delaying the municipal and Panchayati Raj elections under the pretext of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.

Addressing a press conference at the State Congress Headquarters in Jaipur, Congress state chief Govind Singh Dotasra said that the BJP government’s actions clearly show that it intends to postpone elections in the state.

Dotasra said that the SIR process is meant only for states where Assembly, Panchayati Raj, and Municipal elections are not scheduled. However, despite pending local elections, the Election Commission has announced the conduct of SIR in Rajasthan.

The Congress leader alleged that the government is using the “One State, One Election” slogan as an excuse to stall the democratic process. The tenure of 49 municipal bodies ended in November 2024, and that of 11,310 Gram Panchayats has already expired. Administrators have been appointed in all these bodies, yet the government has not initiated the election process.

He also stated that while the deadlines for delimitation were June 4, 2025, for Panchayati Raj institutions and May 22, 2025, for municipal bodies, only ward notifications for municipal areas have been issued. Moreover, the government has not provided any written communication to the State Election Commission expressing its intent to hold these elections.

He further said the OBC Commission, which is essential for granting reservations in local body elections as per the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling, was formed only in April 2025 – months after elections were due. The Commission lacks funds, staff, and authorisation to use BLOs for its survey.

“By conducting SIR, the BJP government has effectively ensured that no election process can start before February 2026, since voter lists will remain frozen until then. After that, the budget session and delimitation work will further delay the polls until mid-2026,” Dotasra said.

He also pointed out that the BJP’s moves – from delaying delimitation to weakening the OBC Commission – are part of a larger plan to manipulate the voter list and postpone elections.

“This is an assault on democracy and a betrayal of the people’s right to vote,” he said.

–IANS

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