For local democracy to flourish in India, State Election Commissions must be reformed

India does not treat local democracy with the same seriousness as national and state institutions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conduct of elections to local governments.

Elections to Parliament and state Assemblies are held with near clockwork precision but those to urban and rural local bodies are frequently delayed or stalled across many states. Article 243U of the Constitution mandates that elections to urban local governments be completed before the expiry of their five-year term, and State Election Commissions are empowered under Article 243ZA to conduct them.

Yet, over the past decade, delays in elections to rural local governments – village and taluk panchayats and zilla parishads – and urban local governments like municipal councils and corporations have become routine. A 2024 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General noted that two-thirds of 2,625 cities audited across 17 states did not have elected councils.

Judicial interventions have so far addressed individual instances rather than the systemic gaps in the legal framework governing local polls. This undermines the intent of the 74th Constitutional Amendment for democratic decentralisation and deprives citizens of elected and accountable governments at the first mile of governance.

After years of delays, some states held local body elections in recent months. But that only signals...

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