The Rajasthan government has requested the Supreme Court to delay elections for 113 municipal bodies. This request stems from the necessity to redo the ward delimitation process, which was invalidated by the High Court. The state government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) explaining that the High Court had rejected the ward delimitation for 113 urban local bodies.
The Rajasthan government is asking for more time to recomplete the process before holding elections. The High Court deemed the delimitation exercise in these urban bodies flawed, leading to the cancellation of revised ward boundaries. Consequently, a fresh delimitation exercise is required.
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s government argues that proceeding with elections without finishing the revised delimitation process would lack legal validity. Therefore, they are seeking an extension of the election schedule.
The Rajasthan High Court had instructed the state government to finalize the delimitation by December 31 and conduct panchayat and municipal elections by April 15. The Supreme Court, while hearing petitions challenging this order, also mandated elections by April 15. The Supreme Court will now review the state government’s plea for an extension.
The decision from the upcoming hearing will determine whether the April 15 election deadline stands or gets prolonged. This issue is crucial as it impacts the election timelines for more than one hundred urban local bodies in Rajasthan. Notably, the last ward reorganization in Rajasthan occurred in 2019, with the state having 196 urban local bodies. Over the past six years, 113 new bodies have been established, where elections will be conducted for the first time.
