Gujarat: Panchayat and assembly polls show interesting contrast

While the country looks forward to the general elections in 2014 and as the debate about prime ministerial candidates intensifies, the recently concluded elections for 1,427 village panchayats in Gujarat reflect an interesting process of democracy and politics. Unlike the parliamentary and assembly elections, the panchayat polls do not involve symbols of political parties. Besides electing the members of the panchayat, the strength of which varies from 7 to 17, villagers separately vote for the sarpanch, who, incidentally, can be disqualified by the elected members. And once the results are out, political parties stake the claim to be in control of the maximum elected bodies.

While parliamentary and assembly elections are organised by New-Delhi headquartered Election Commission (EC), village panchayat, town municipality and city municipal corporation elections are arranged by the respective State Election Commission (SEC).

Panchayats, too, have a five-year term. Out of around 14,000 panchayats in Gujarat, voting was conducted in around 10,400 panchayats in December 2011 as their terms were getting over within six months.

Nearly 1,427 panchayats went for polls on February 3, 2013 and results were declared on February 5. Of these, 286 bodies were declared elected without a contest. These 286 bodies are referred to as 'Samras gram panchayat' and such villages are also given additional financial assistance by the state government to encourage the practice.

Explaining the process, SEC secretary PS Shah said, “A village is the smallest unit in the panchayati raj system. It also has a relatively smaller population. It is not advisable for the community to have political differences, as it may divide the community and disturb the harmony, progress and development of the village in the long run. So in the village’s interest - yet maintaining the democratic process - panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols.”
Political parties have their own view. As soon as the results were announced, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress once again put forward their claims that the people had elected 80% of the panchayats who favour their ideology.

Explaining the claim, spokesperson of state BJP, IK Jadeja, said, “BJP has its own active members at the village level booth committees. We are also organising meetings of sarpanchs at taluka level. Only those attend the meeting, who are with our party’s ideology. So, even though the elections are not fought on party symbols, it becomes very easy for us to identify the sarpanchs with our ideology.”

The response from the Congress party was on the similar lines. Haribhai Chaudhary, convener of the panchayat department of Gujarat Congress, said, “Our organisation has spread deep in the state up to the village level. At the time of panchayat elections, our workers work in favour of Congress supported candidates in the villages. After the results, it becomes very clear to us about who has won with our party’s ideology.”

There is another dimension to the polls. It may be seen as a loophole in the panchayati raj system that the sarpanch – the head of the village administration, who gets elected directly by the villagers, can be disqualified by the elected members of the panchayat. Despite having reserved seat of sarpanchs for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women, there have been instances where the head, who had been elected by the villagers, was voted out by the members, who had no role in electing him.

“Recently, the sarpanch of Ajol village in Mansa taluka of Gandhinagar district was voted out by the members of the panchayat. It’s a pity that the power to disqualify sarpanch is with the members, who actually have no say in electing him. The people cannot stop the members from disqualifying the sarpanch,” said Chaudhary.

“There have been representations to the government that either the people should be given power to recall the sarpanch, whom they had elected, or the sarpanch should be elected from among the elected members. It should be like the assembly and parliamentary system, where the chief minister or the prime minister is elected from among the members elected by the people,” he added.