Candidates aspiring to contest the upcoming Panchayat elections in Assam must meet specific eligibility criteria, as outlined by the State Election Commissioner, Alok Kumar. Candidates for the Gaon Panchayat must have cleared the Class 10 examination. However, individuals belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC), and More Other Backward Classes (MOBC) are only required to have studied up to Class 10. For candidates seeking election to the Zilla Parishad or Anchalik Panchayat, a minimum qualification of passing the Class 12 examination or an equivalent qualification recognized by any state or central council or board is required. Additionally, candidates with more than two living children born after March 2018 will be ineligible to contest.
The State Election Commissioner also announced that Panchayat elections will be held in two phases on May 2 and May 7 across 27 districts in Assam. The first phase will include districts from Upper Assam and Barak Valley, such as Cachar, Hailakandi, Srimanta Sankardev, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur. The second phase will cover districts like Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Bajali, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon, and Darrang.
Kumar clarified that the elections will be conducted using traditional ballot papers, despite the framework for the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in local body elections through the Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The votes will be counted on May 11, following the completion of the elections.
In preparation for the elections, the Assam government undertook a fresh delimitation of the Gaon Panchayat, Anchalik Panchayat, and Zilla Parishad constituencies in 2024, excluding areas under the Sixth Schedule and municipal regions. Kumar noted that seven districts in Assam are under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, where autonomous council elections are conducted separately.
