Around 1.5 lakh government employees and police personnel deployed for Rajasthan’s panchayat elections may be unable to vote in sarpanch and panchayat polls because the State Election Commission has no provision for postal ballots or advance voting for officials on election duty.
State Election Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh confirmed the gap during a visit to Jaisalmer on Thursday. The affected personnel are estimated to include around 80,000 government employees and 70,000 police personnel responsible for conducting and securing the elections.
The absence of an alternative voting arrangement means that officials assigned to polling and security duties could be excluded from participating in the grassroots contests they are helping administer. Rajasthan has around 4.04 crore voters, making the issue a significant administrative and electoral concern in a state-wide local election process.
Singh said postal ballot facilities are available for zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections, but no similar provision exists for sarpanch polls. He said the nomination process for sarpanch elections ends only a day before polling, leaving insufficient time to arrange advance voting for personnel deployed on election duty.
The State Election Commissioner said the issue remained unresolved under the current system. The comments come as elections are being held for 41 zila parishads, 457 panchayat samitis and 14,403 gram panchayats, involving 155,138 representatives.
The gap affects personnel working across the election system, including staff managing polling stations and police teams assigned to maintain security. Unlike voters who can attend their designated polling stations, these personnel may be stationed away from their constituencies or engaged throughout polling day.
Singh defended other aspects of the election arrangements, saying campaign expenditure had declined and attempts to influence voters through inducements had been curbed. He said there had been no complaints about large-scale community feasts or the distribution of illicit liquor.
The Commission is also preparing for elections to panchayat samiti chairperson and zila parishad chief posts in four districts, including Sriganganagar. Singh said polling for these posts would be held after the current office-bearers complete their five-year terms around December 20.
He said the Commission would follow constitutional provisions and judicially prescribed timelines. Singh also described the simultaneous conduct of municipal and panchayat elections under the state government’s ‘One State, One Election’ initiative as challenging, although the process was proceeding without disruption.
