OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: The ruling BJP in Arunachal Pradesh won two Gram Panchayat Member (GPM) seats along with one Zila Parishad Member (ZPM) seat, while independent candidates won three GPM seats in the panchayat bye-elections held on November 6. Out of the total 54 vacancies in gram panchayat constituencies and two vacant seats in two zila parishad constituencies spread over 23 districts of the state, elections were held for one ZPM and five GPM seats after a ZPM and 49 GPMs were declared uncontested on October 21 this year, State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Taru Talo said. With the results declared on Wednesday, the BJP emerged as the winner in 39 GP constituencies and two ZPM seats, while the opposition Congress won five GP seats, followed by the NPP in one seat and independents in nine seats.
The seats fall vacant due to various reasons, including death and resignation from the posts, the secretary said. Arunachal Pradesh has a total of 25 zila parishads with 242 constituencies and 2,115 gram panchayats with 8,145 seats. Elections to 40 gram panchayat seats and one zila parishad in Vijoynagar administrative sub-division under Changlang district, however, were kept pending due to law and order and other administrative issues, State Election Commissioner Rinchin Tashi had told reporters earlier. "As per the report of the district election officer, circumstances are not conducive to holding elections at Vijoynagar," the SEC said.
On March 15, 2018, the state assembly passed the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill to do away with the Anchal Samiti, the intermediate level of the three-tier panchayati raj system, and set up a two-tier system in the state. This was being done following the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution, which enables a state with a population of less than 20 lakh not to have an intermediate level. Arunachal Pradesh has a population of 13.84 lakh. The last panchayat elections in the state were held in December 2020, and by-elections were held in July 2022 for one zila parishad and 130 gram panchayat seats, respectively.
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