Bihar Panch, Sarpanch Now Eligible To Vote In MLC Polls | File Pic (Representative Image)
Patna: Now, panch (members of village courts) and sarpanches (heads of village courts) have been granted the right to vote in elections to Bihar legislative council from local authorities’ constituencies.
Until now, in the elections for the local authority constituencies of the Legislative Council, mainly Mukhiyas (village heads), ward members, Panchayat Samiti members, Zila Parishad members, and representatives of urban local bodies used to vote. Representatives of the Gram Kachahari (village court), i.e., Panch and Sarpanch, were excluded from this democratic process. The Bihar Panch-Sarpanch Association had been demanding for years that they also be given the right to vote like other Panchayat representatives. The fulfillment of a long-standing demand will grant voting rights to thousands of representatives, thus changing the dynamics of the MLC elections.
Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has clarified in its letter that under Article 171(3)(A) of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, Gram Panchayats fall under the category of ‘local bodies’. On this basis, all elected representatives of the Gram Panchayat, including Panch and Sarpanch, are eligible to vote in the MLC elections. The number of Panch and Sarpanch in Bihar is quite large. After this decision, thousands of new names will be added to the voter list, which will completely change the landscape of the MLC elections. Following a letter issued by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the role of all elected representatives of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system in Bihar will become crucial in electing MLCs.
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MLC Sachchidanand Rai said that Panch and Sarpanches had been neglected for a long time, even though they were a crucial link in the judicial and administrative system through the Gram Kachahari (village courts). Rai said that granting voting rights to the Panch and Sarpanches would boost their morale and make their role in the local governance system more effective. This will strengthen the Gram Kachahari and further empower democracy at the rural level, he added.
