Rajasthan panchayat polls: Gehlot questions schedule, points to BJP isolating candidates

• Ashok Gehlot questioned the lengthy gap between voting, counting and leadership elections in Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj polls

• The Congress leader accused the BJP of moving candidates to resorts and pilgrimage sites outside their districts and restricting contact with their families

• He urged the state Election Commission to ensure the forthcoming elections are free from pressure, inducements and interference

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday questioned the timetable for the state’s Panchayati Raj elections, describing the lengthy intervals between voting, counting and the selection of local body heads as unprecedented.

The Congress leader also accused the ruling BJP of relocating its candidates to resorts and pilgrimage destinations outside their home districts, including in other states, and restricting their contact with their families.

Voting in the first phase of elections to zila parishads and panchayat samitis took place on 22 October, while counting for all phases is scheduled for 20 November. Gehlot questioned why first-phase candidates faced a wait of nearly a month before the results.

The subsequent leadership elections are spread over several days. Zila pramukhs, who head district councils, are to be elected on 25 November, followed by panchayat samiti heads, or pradhans, on 27 November. Elections for deputy heads are scheduled for 28 November.

“Such a gap has never been left before. Why has this interval been created?” Gehlot asked.

He claimed that some BJP candidates had been kept away from their homes since the first phase of voting, with their mobile phones switched off and access to their families restricted, including during Diwali.

Gehlot questioned the democratic basis for keeping candidates isolated for prolonged periods and said the arrangements raised concerns about possible horse-trading ahead of the leadership contests.

He accused the BJP government of seeking to influence the outcome through money and muscle power, drawing a comparison with what he described as similar practices during the recent urban local body elections.

The former chief minister said he had earlier asked Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to prohibit such camps, but no action had followed.

Gehlot maintained that the circumstances had forced the Congress to take protective measures for its own candidates. He said these steps were necessary to guard against administrative pressure and the misuse of government machinery.

Calling for close scrutiny of the forthcoming leadership elections, he urged the State Election Commission and the administration to ensure that candidates could participate freely, without coercion, inducements or other forms of undue influence.

The supplied report did not include a response from the BJP, the state government or the State Election Commission to Gehlot’s accusations.

With IANS inputs