- By Priyanka Koul
- Fri, 10 Oct 2025 04:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu clarified on Friday that the upcoming panchayati raj elections have not been scrapped but will take place once road infrastructure is restored across the disaster-affected areas.
“Our priority is to provide relief to the disaster-hit people whose houses have been completely or partially damaged and give compensation to the victims,” Sukhu told reporters, underlining that rehabilitation remains the government's immediate concern.
Responding to criticism from the opposition, the chief minister accused BJP leaders of deliberately trying to tarnish his reputation. “BJP leaders are making planned attempts to malign my image,” Sukhu alleged.
His remarks came a day after the announcement to postpone the rural body elections, a decision that drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which labelled it a “pre-planned, anti-people act.”
Originally scheduled between December 2025 and January 2026, the panchayat elections must be held before the deadline of January 23. However, extensive damage to roads and infrastructure due to recent natural calamities has raised concerns about accessibility in several rural areas.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh had earlier stated that if road connectivity is restored in time, elections would proceed as planned.
A notification issued Thursday by Chief Secretary and State Executive Committee chairman Sanjay Gupta confirmed that polls would be conducted “only after restoration of proper connectivity,” citing the widespread destruction of roads and both private and public property as the reason for the delay.
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The notification pointed out that massive damage was caused during the monsoons this year. From June to September, 47 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods, and 148 major landslides were reported in the state, and 270 people died in rain-related incidents, it said.
As many as 1,817 houses were fully damaged, and 8,323 houses were partially damaged during the natural calamities. The total loss was pegged at Rs 5,426 crore.
Due to the continued rainfall, the respective deputy commissioners were unable to connect panchayat roads, the notification added.
The BJP leaders in the state accused the Congress government of being reluctant to "face people" due to its poor performance and failure to implement its poll promises.
"The Congress government is aware that its massive defeat is pre-decided, and hence postponed the elections on the pretext of natural calamity," said Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.
The elections to urban local bodies were postponed at the last moment earlier as well, he added.
The former chief minister also alleged that everything was scripted.
"First, letters were written by deputy commissioners and elections were deferred soon after," Thakur said, asking the government to hold the polls and face the people.
State BJP president Rajiv Bindal called the postponement of the polls a well-planned, anti-people decision, as the Congress knows that it "would draw a blank and all its pradhans will be defeated".
"The Congress party talks about saving democracy, but in reality, it is working to harm the biggest festival of democracy. This move clearly demonstrates that the Congress is evading democratic norms," he added.
Responding to the allegations, the chief minister said the BJP, which is divided into five factions (under J P Nadda, Jai Ram Thakur, Anurag Thakur, Rajiv Bindal, and Harsh Mahajan), has made it a policy to oppose everything and divert the attention of the public.
He added that the opposition party in the aftermath of the 2023 monsoon disaster, had raised its voice to convene a Vidhan Sabha session, and when a debate on the disaster was brought up in the House, the BJP leaders walked out and "did not stand with the affected people".
( With PTI Inputs )