First phase of panchayat polls in Rajasthan on Jan 17

Over 2,700 panchayats in 31 of 33 districts of Rajasthan will go to polls in the first phase on Friday.

The polling will be held from 8 AM to 5 PM.

As many as 17,242 candidates are in the fray for the posts of sarpanchs and 42,704 for panchs, Secretary of State Election Commission Shyam Singh Rajpurohit said.

Ahead of the elections, 36 sarpanchs and 11,035 panchs have been elected unopposed in the state.

An State Election Commission officer said 28,797 candidates had filed nomination for the posts of sarpanchs in 2,726 gram panchayats. A total of 28,192 nominations were found valid after scrutiny and 10,914 candidates had withdrawn their candidature.

He said 36 sarpanchs were elected unopposed in 31 districts of the state and now a total 17,242 candidates will contest the election for the post in the first phase.

As many as 70,732 candidates had filed nomination for the posts of panchs in 2,726 gram panchayats in 31 districts. After scrutiny of nomination and withdrawal of candidature, 42,704 candidates are in fray for the post. 11,035 candidates were elected panchs unopposed, he said.

The second phase of the polling will be held on January 22, third on January 29 and the dates for the fourth phase are yet to be announced.