Over one-third of ward member candidates elected uncontested in Odisha | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Over one-third of ward member candidates elected uncontested in Odisha

ByDebabrata Mohanty
Jan 27, 2022 12:13 AM IST

Panchayatiraj department officials said the election of a large number of ward members without any contest may be happening as they are largely powerless.

BHUBANESWAR: Candidates in little more than one-third of the 91890 posts of ward members in the forthcoming panchayat polls in Odisha were declared elected uncontested by State Election Commission on Wednesday, repeating a trend that was seen in 2017 panchayat polls.

Odisha State Election Commission said 36523 candidates of the total 91890 for the post of ward members were declared winners as they were the only candidates. (Representational Image/ANI)
Odisha State Election Commission said 36523 candidates of the total 91890 for the post of ward members were declared winners as they were the only candidates. (Representational Image/ANI)

The Commission in a notification on Wednesday said 36523 candidates for the post of ward members, the lowest-ranked functionaries of the three-tier panchayatiraj system, were declared winners as they were the only candidates.

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Similarly, of the total 6,793 posts of sarpanch in as many grampanchayats, 126 candidates were declared uncontested winners. In the case of panchayat samitis, 326 candidates out of the total 6,793 panchayat samiti posts have been elected without contest.

However, only one candidate for the zilla parishad member’s post out of the total 853 posts was elected unopposed. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Kalpana Pradhan from zone II of Ambabhona block of Bargarh district was declared the winner.

Officials said the percentage of ward members declared winners without contesting will be higher as the Commission has called for fresh nomination in at least 4000 such posts where there were no nominations.

The trend of large number of ward member candidates getting elected uncontested was seen in 2017 when 36222 candidates won the polls without a single vote being cast.

Panchayatiraj department officials said the election of a large number of ward members without any contest may be happening as they are largely powerless.

“Though every ward member of the Gramapanchayats have the right to access to the records of the Gramapanchayat and inspect all works undertaken by the panchayat as well as all the institutions, controlled, managed and directed by the Gramapanchayat, in reality they wield little control. So there is little interest,” said the official.

BJP leader Sajjan Sharma alleged that not just the ward members, even Zilla Parishad chairpersons and panchayat samiti chairpersons don’t enjoy much freedom as the bureaucracy takes all the crucial decisions. “In Odisha the district collectors take major decisions for the zilla parishads and the BDOs for the panchayat samitis. In case of gram panchayats, the panchayat extension officer is the real authority,” alleged Sharma.

When it comes to salaries, the ward members get paltry sum compared to other functionaries of the panchayatiraj system. While the sarpanchs in the state get monthly salary of 2,350, panchayat samiti members and their chairpersons get 3,530 while the Zilla parishad members and their chairpersons get 7,040 and 9,380 respectively.

However, the ward members get no monthly salary and are paid just 240 per sitting of their respective panchayats towards allowance.

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