Rajasthan High Court Orders BJP Government to Hold Simultaneous Panchayat and Municipal Elections by April 2026

Jaipur:

The Rajasthan High Court has mandated that the state government conduct Panchayat and Municipal elections concurrently by April 15, 2026. The ruling, delivered by a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice S.P. Sharma, requires the BJP government to complete the delimitation process by December 31, emphasizing that election delays contravene constitutional provisions.

The judgment, issued on Friday, addresses multiple petitions filed by former MLA Sanyam Lodha, Giriraj Singh Devanda, and others who challenged the government's postponement of local elections.

Petitioners contended that the Rajasthan government improperly deferred elections despite expired terms for approximately 6,759 panchayats and 55 municipalities across the state. The court delivered its verdict nearly three months after reserving judgment on August 12.

Advocate Premchand Devanda, representing petitioners, argued that the government's January 16, 2025 notification postponing Panchayat elections violated Articles 243E and 243K of the Constitution and Section 17 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994. He maintained that elections must be conducted immediately after a panchayat's five-year term concludes and that outgoing sarpanches cannot serve as administrators since they no longer hold public office.

In a separate PIL concerning municipal elections, advocate Puneet Singhvi, representing former MLA Lodha, asserted that the government unlawfully appointed administrators after failing to conduct elections in 55 municipalities whose terms expired in November 2024.

Singhvi emphasized that this violated both constitutional provisions and the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, noting that the Supreme Court permits postponement of local body elections only during natural disasters – circumstances not present in this case.

The BJP government defended its decision, citing its intention to implement 'One State, One Election' and establishing a high-level committee for this purpose. The government claimed this approach would conserve time, money, and manpower while strengthening local governance structures.

Additionally, the government explained that election postponement resulted from incomplete boundary demarcation, panchayat restructuring, and municipal delimitation work following district reorganization, with nine recently created districts subsequently abolished.

The government further argued that Section 95 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 authorizes the appointment of administrators when elections are deferred, and that the Act grants discretionary authority regarding administrator selection.