Assam Panchayat Elections deferred to February 2025 amid delimitation and voter list preparation

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that Assam’s long-awaited panchayat elections have been rescheduled for February 2025, with the revised voters' list expected to be published by December 30, 2024. The decision, finalized during the Assam cabinet meeting on Tuesday, marks a delay from the earlier commitment of completing the election process by December 31, 2024.

Addressing the media, Sarma clarified, “We discussed the panchayat elections and concluded that the voters’ list will be ready by December 30. If all proceeds as planned, the election process should conclude by February 10, 2025.” He added that the election schedule would be declared in early January and that voting would be conducted in two phases.

The postponement comes as Sarma had previously emphasized a firm adherence to the December 2024 deadline, underscoring the importance of a comprehensive delimitation effort. In a meeting with district commissioners in July, he had directed that block-level delimitation should be thorough, ensuring that the overall number of panchayats does not decrease.

Sarma elaborated on these concerns, stating, “An essential task is reorganizing panchayats without reducing their numbers. Complaints from certain districts indicated that based on population metrics, the number of panchayats might decrease. While Zila Parishads remain unaffected, we must safeguard the current panchayat count.”

Earlier discussions highlighted the necessity of maintaining existing panchayat infrastructure amid delimitation. Sarma assured that amendments to the relevant Act would be considered if needed, to preserve panchayat numbers in line with either the new population data or current figures.

“The delimitation process must be approached meticulously. We do not wish to compromise our existing infrastructure,” Sarma emphasized. He reiterated the urgency of conducting the elections on time, adding, “We cannot afford delays that would portray Assam as unable to conduct panchayat elections. Ensuring the process is complete before the end of 2024 was our goal, and now adjustments will be made to achieve that by February 2025.”