Rajasthan: Bhajan Lal govt faces contempt plea over election delay

Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's government in Rajasthan, which has been evading panchayat and urban local body elections despite a Rajasthan High Court directive to complete the process by 31 July this year, is now facing contempt proceedings.

Former Congress MLA Sanyam Lodha has filed a contempt petition in the high court, alleging that the state government failed to comply with the court's directions within the stipulated timeline to complete the delimitation and election process.

In its 22 May order, the high court directed the state government to complete the elections to panchayats and local bodies by 31 July. Despite the directive, however, the government has neither initiated the election process nor issued the required notification.

The state government is also at loggerheads with the State Election Commission (SEC), which has informed the government that it requires at least 90 days to complete the electoral process after all statutory formalities are fulfilled.

The delay has primarily been caused by the Rajasthan Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission's failure to submit its report. In the absence of the report, the SEC is unable to identify OBC-reserved seats ahead of elections.

Interestingly, Lodha's contempt petition has named state election commissioner Rajeshwar Prasad, SEC secretary Rajesh Verma, panchayati raj commissioner Joga Ram, and local self department director Prateek Chandrashekhar Juikar as respondents.

Lodha has said though the high court's directions to conduct the elections by 31 July, along with the court's notice, were served on the government by 1 July, both the state government and the SEC failed to begin the election process, citing the pending OBC Commission report.

On Wednesday, 8 July, the SEC again wrote to the government, reiterating that it would require at least 90 days to conduct the elections. It said the government must first provide a complete list of seats reserved not only for OBCs but also for women, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Without these details, the commission said it couldn't commence the election process.

The BJP government has, for nearly a year, deferred the elections on one pretext or another. According to its critics, the BJP believes the political climate in Rajasthan is currently unfavourable and fears that holding the elections could result in electoral setbacks with repercussions for the next Assembly polls.

On 14 November 2025, a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court directed the state government to complete the delimitation process by 31 December and hold simultaneous elections to all panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies by April this year.

The high court observed that timely elections to panchayat and municipal bodies are a Constitutional obligation under articles 243E and 243U. The state government challenged the order in the Supreme Court, but the apex court declined to interfere after recording the government's assurance that it would complete the election process by 15 April.

An SEC official said on 15 June, the commission wrote to both the local self and panchayati raj departments, seeking data relating to reserved seats, particularly those earmarked for women, OBCs, SCs and STs, so that preparations for the elections could begin in time to meet the court's 31 July deadline. However, the departments did not respond.

"The state government has not responded to several letters sent by the commission seeking various data. According to the government's reply, the OBC Commission, which was appointed to survey OBC communities and recommend the number of seats to be reserved for the category in both panchayati raj and municipal bodies, has not yet submitted its report. Once the report is submitted, the government says it will inform the commission.

"But the OBC Commission has yet to complete its surveys in several districts and compile its report. Its tenure runs until September this year, and it is yet to submit its findings. The SEC is merely the agency that conducts elections based on data supplied by the state government. We have now informed the government that even if the data is provided at this stage, the commission will still require 90 days to prepare for and conduct the elections," the official said.

With virtually no possibility of holding the elections by 31 July in the absence of a notification, the state government now has little option but to approach the court again and seek more time.

"What is surprising is the laxity on the part of the state government, which has forgotten its Constitutional duty to hold elections as guaranteed by the Constitution. The government's administrative machinery has collapsed and it is facing a severe financial crisis. It is finding it difficult even to pay salaries and pensions. Yet the government will have to hold the elections; there is no escape," former chief minister and veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said.

Various Central grants worth Rs 3,000 crore have lapsed because the state government failed to hold the elections. Under the prescribed conditions, these grants are released only to panchayats with elected representatives.

"The BJP, because of its non-performance, has no face to go before the electorate and seek another mandate. Poor governance has reduced many panchayats to mere showpieces, while administrators appointed to these institutions have no funds to run them. Despite the high court's strictures and contempt notices, the BJP government has continued to avoid holding elections," the Assembly Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Tika Ram Jully said.

Elections are due in 14,403 panchayati raj institutions across Rajasthan. In addition, elections are pending in 41 zilla parishads and 309 urban local bodies.