Exclusion in Panchayat Elections

In December 2014, days before the announcement of the panchayat polls, the Rajasthan government issued an ordinance amending the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act. It set minimum educational qualifications for those contesting the local elections: Class X for a member of the zilaparishad or panchayat samiti and Class VIII for sarpanch of gram panchayats. Less than a year later, the Manohar Khattar government passed a similar amendment to the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act.

• Accordingly, general category candidates had to clear their Class X, women and SC candidates their class VIII and SC candidates for the post of panch their class V. In ....