Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Election Commission (SEC) has postponed gram panchayat elections due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the constitutional body ordered on Thursday.
“On examining the viability of conducting the elections to gram panchayats, the SEC has decided to postpone the polls, considering the situation (Covid-19 pandemic),” the SEC ordered.
The poll panel will scrutinise the situation in the days come before taking a call on holding the elections.
The poll body also took congnizance of the district administration and its machineries being busily involved in tackling Covid-19.
The tenure of as many as 5,800 gram panchayats out of 6,025 will lapse between June and August 2020.
Earlier, the state government had recommended postponement of the GP election for the period of six months. Now the elected bodies will be replaced with administrative bodies handpicked by the respective DCs.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah slammed the commission for its decision and has called the move as ‘anti-constitutional.
He announced that party will move to court against the commission’s decision.
