UP Panchayat Chunav: Big decision of Yogi government, tenure is over, still Pradhan will rule the village

The biggest news of this time is coming from rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. The tenure of village heads in UP has ended today i.e. on 25th May. Usually, as soon as the term of office ends, the chair of the Pradhans is snatched away, but this time it is not going to happen. Despite the end of the tenure, the influence and role of the heads in the villages will remain the same as before. In fact, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given the green signal to a big proposal of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Department, under which preparations are being made to hand over the work as administrators to the existing village heads. There is every possibility of an official order regarding this decision being issued by Monday evening.

System changed for the first time in the history of UP

This is going to be the first time in the Panchayat history of Uttar Pradesh, when such administrative committee will be formed in Gram Panchayats. Let us tell you that till now whenever such a situation arose, the ADO (ADO) Panchayat or Secretary of the villages was appointed administrator. As soon as this happened, all the financial and administrative rights of the princes were completely abolished. But this time the Yogi government has adopted a completely different and unique system, under which the old village head will become the administrator and will continue to handle the entire system of the village and carry forward the development works.

Why were Panchayat elections postponed in UP?

The question in everyone’s mind is why the elections could not be held on time. In fact, the main reason for the three-tier Panchayat elections not being held on time in the state is OBC reservation. Due to lack of complete clarity regarding OBC reservation, the election process had to be extended. Even now that the OBC Commission has been formed, it is estimated that it will take at least six months to complete the necessary preparations for the elections. There is discussion in political circles that now these Panchayat elections can be held only after the assembly elections of 2027.

Know why the government had to change the old rule

In view of this long delay in elections, the government has found this middle path. The government believes that it is very important to appoint administrators in Gram Panchayats before May 26, so that the ongoing development work and administrative arrangements in the villages are not affected in any way. For this reason, even though the tenure of the Pradhans may have technically ended under the new system, they will now continue to make the village government shine in the new role of an administrator.

If we look at the earlier rules, whenever Panchayat elections were postponed, government officers (Secretaries or ADOs) were given command and the Pradhans’ hands were free. Recently, village heads had also staged a strong protest in Lucknow regarding this matter. Since assembly elections are to be held in the state next year, the government did not want to incur any kind of resentment at the rural level. This is the reason why instead of giving power to the officials, the Yogi government has re-expressed its trust on the village heads.