The Karnataka government plans to conduct zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections by late December or January, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B Khandre said, with constituency delimitation and reservation notifications already published across the state.
Speaking to reporters in Shivamogga, Khandre said the government was committed to completing the electoral process within the announced timeline. The final draft notification will be issued after authorities review objections filed against the delimitation and reservation exercise, following which the State Election Commission will begin scheduling the polls.
The elections will determine the next elected representatives in the state’s two rural local-government tiers. Zilla panchayats operate at the district level, while taluk panchayats function below them and coordinate local development and civic programmes across groups of villages. The completion of delimitation and reservation notifications is a key procedural step before the State Election Commission can formally organise polling.
Khandre did not announce a specific polling date. The final schedule will depend on the review of objections and the subsequent notification process. The minister’s statement places the election timeline between late December and January, but the report did not specify whether voting would take place in one phase or across multiple phases.
The minister also addressed rural drinking-water arrangements amid rainfall deficits that he attributed to the El Niño effect. He said Rs 117 crore had initially been released for rural drinking-water measures, while an additional Rs 1 crore per rural Assembly constituency had been allocated by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. According to Khandre, the total funds available for the response had reached Rs 306 crore, with further reserves available with district administrations.
Officials have been instructed to arrange alternative water sources or deploy tankers within 24 hours if borewells supplying a village run dry, Khandre said. The statement places district administrations at the centre of the immediate response, particularly in villages where groundwater sources fail during periods of water stress.
Khandre also referred to safety arrangements for domesticated elephants used during public celebrations. He said a serious mishap had been avoided when the tusker Somanna panicked and ran erratically during the recent Vijayadashami celebrations. Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy has directed that enhanced training regimes be implemented, Khandre said, adding that safety standards would be enforced when trained elephants are deployed at public gatherings.
The minister made the remarks after receiving the Keladi Shivappa Nayaka Award for 2023–24, which was conferred posthumously on his father and former minister Bhimanna Khandre. The next formal milestone for the rural elections is the publication of the final draft notification after objections to delimitation and reservations have been reviewed.
