Bengaluru: With the tenure of nearly 90 per cent of gram panchayats in Karnataka set to expire within the next two months, the state government is preparing to conduct simultaneous elections to gram, taluk and district panchayats under a new formula termed “three tiers: one village, one election”.
The move is aimed at reducing delays, administrative burden and election-related expenditure while ensuring continuity in grassroots governance. The government has decided to complete all preparatory work by April 2026 and extend full cooperation to the State Election Commission to enable elections to all three tiers of the panchayat system at one time.
Under this model, voters in rural areas will be able to cast separate ballots for gram panchayat, taluk panchayat and district panchayat in a single visit to the polling booth. Officials believe this will save time and effort for voters and significantly cut down election costs.
In a key change, the government has decided to use ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for these elections. Earlier, EVMs were used for district and taluk panchayat polls, while gram panchayat elections were conducted using ballot papers.
The uniform use of ballot papers across all three tiers is expected to simplify logistics and avoid technical complications. Most gram panchayat elections in the state were held during 2020–21, and the five-year tenure of these bodies is set to end between January and March this year.
Meanwhile, elections to district and taluk panchayats were held in April 2016, and the tenure of those elected representatives ended on April 27, 2021. Since then, the absence of elected bodies at the upper tiers has been a major concern for rural administration.
The State Election Commission had initiated preparations for elections several years ago, including constituency delimitation, publication of draft voter lists and reservation details.
However, the previous BJP-led government withdrew delimitation and reservation powers from the Election Commission through amendments to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj and Grama Swaraj Act and transferred them to a newly constituted Karnataka Panchayat Raj Delimitation Commission. This led to delays and legal challenges.
The Election Commission approached the High Court over the delay in delimitation and reservation for district and taluk panchayats. Subsequently, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department accepted the recommendations of the government-appointed commission and issued notifications on delimitation and the number of members, though reservation finalisation remained pending.
Pressure has been mounting on the government from Legislative Council members representing local bodies and various associations of rural elected representatives to hold simultaneous elections to all three tiers. The issue has also been raised repeatedly in the state legislature.
Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge acknowledged that legal disputes over delimitation, reservation lists and even the election of presidents and vice-presidents had earlier hindered the “one village, one election” concept.
However, he said that fewer than 10 per cent of gram panchayats face court-related delays and that preparations for taluk and district panchayat elections are largely complete. “There is a serious proposal to include gram panchayats whose tenure is ending and conduct elections together. Elections will be held soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Members’ Federation has opposed the appointment of administrators to panchayats whose tenure has ended. Federation president Kadashettihalli Satish has demanded withdrawal of the department circular and urged the government to extend the term of existing elected committees for six months, as permitted under the law, until elections are held.
Legislative Council member Manjunath Bhandari argued that conducting elections separately for three tiers consumes nearly one-and-a-half years, stalling development work, and said the “one village, one election” model offers a practical solution.
Key numbers
- 5,948 gram panchayats
- 95,000 elected panchayat representatives
- 31 district panchayats
- 240 taluk panchayats
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