Himachal Election Commission pulls up state govt over move to postpone reservation roster for local body polls

TNR News Network
Shimla:
The Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) has taken strong exception to the state government’s move to postpone the reservation roster for urban local body (ULB) elections, terming it a violation of constitutional authority.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, the SEC made it clear that the Urban Development Department has no legal mandate to alter a schedule issued by the Election Commission, a constitutionally empowered body.

The SEC’s letter was issued late Thursday, just hours after the Urban Development Department circulated an order to all Deputy Commissioners, except those of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, announcing the postponement of the ULB reservation process. The justification cited was the lack of updated demographic data due to the delay in the national Census.

Elections scheduled across 73 urban bodies, 3,600 panchayats

Municipal elections are due this year in all urban local bodies of Himachal Pradesh, except for the Shimla Municipal Corporation. These elections will cover seven Municipal Corporations, 29 Municipal Councils and 37 nagar panchayats. In addition, over 3,600 gram panchayats will also go to the polls.

To facilitate these elections, the State Election Commission had released the full schedule for ward division, delimitation and reservation of seats two months ago. According to the schedule, all ward reservations were to be finalised by Friday (July 11) and the complete list was to be submitted to the SEC by July 15.

State cites Census delay; SEC rejects argument

In its order dated July 10, 2025, the Urban Development Department stated that the reservation process must be deferred, citing the unavailability of accurate population data for SC, ST, and OBC communities due to the delayed national Census. “The implementation/finalisation of the reservation roster shall be postponed until the latest Census data becomes available,” the order read.

However, the Election Commission swiftly rejected this rationale. It emphasised that elections cannot be delayed or altered based on administrative constraints, especially when the existing legal framework allows for reservation decisions based on the latest available data, even if it’s not from the most recent Census.

SEC demands immediate withdrawal of postponement order

Calling the state government’s move unconstitutional and legally untenable, the SEC has demanded that the Urban Development Department’s order be withdrawn immediately. The commission reiterated that it alone holds the authority to determine election timelines and processes and any interference by the executive wing of the state government is a direct breach of constitutional conduct.

The confrontation between the SEC and the state government has sparked political and administrative concern, especially as the state gears up for a large-scale electoral exercise. With thousands of local bodies involved, delays or disputes could significantly impact the democratic process at the grassroots level.