Raipur, May 08: The Chhattisgarh State Election Commission on Friday announced the schedule for general and bye-elections to urban local bodies and three-tier Panchayats across the state. Polling will be conducted in a single phase on 1 June, with the final results scheduled to be declared on 4 June.
State Election Commissioner Ajay Singh stated that the formal election process will commence on 11 May. With the notification of the schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into immediate effect in all concerned municipal and Panchayat areas.
Nomination papers for 82 posts in urban local bodies—including five Presidents of Municipalities and 77 Ward Councillors—will be accepted from 11 May to 18 May. Simultaneously, nominations will be filed for 1,228 posts in the three-tier Panchayat system, which includes 10 Janpad Panchayat Members, 82 Sarpanchs, and 1,136 Panchs.
The scrutiny of nomination papers is scheduled for 19 May, and the deadline for withdrawal of candidature is 21 May.
Voting for urban bodies will be held from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on a party basis. Panchayat elections will be conducted on a non-party basis using ballot boxes from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. While the counting of votes for Panchayats will take place on the day of polling, the final tabulation for both categories will be completed on 4 June.
The Commission has set up 115 polling stations for urban local body elections and 937 for Panchayat polls. Approximately 44,525 voters are eligible to participate in the urban body elections, while 10,37,789 voters are expected to cast their ballots in the Panchayat elections.
To ensure transparency, five Expenditure Observers and 33 General Observers have been appointed to monitor compliance with the Model Code of Conduct. Commission Secretary Shikha Rajput Tiwari said that all observers have been directed to ensure free and fair elections. Training sessions for Returning Officers and master trainers have already been completed to ensure the process remains orderly.