Ahmedabad, 9 November 2014

The Governor of Gujarat has signed the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws bill and has given sanction for its implementation to the state government three days back. With this Gujarat is all set to become the first state in India where voters will have to compulsorily vote in local body polls.

The bill was passed by the state government twice when Shri Narendra Modi was chief minister. It was however opposed by then Governor Dr. Kamla Beniwal who had taken the stand that the provision of compulsory voting is violation of Article 21 of the constitution and forcing voter to vote is against the principles of an individual liberty.

As per the Bill, any person who fails to vote during local body polls, is liable for “punishment and will be penalised,” though it did not explain the exact nature of action.

The bill was clubbed with another proposal which was about 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies. Then Governor Dr. Kamla Beniwal had asked the government to separate issue of women’s reservation in local body polls from that of compulsory voting.

Gujarat will then witness the biggest election season after Lok Sabha general elections in last quarter of 2015. Panchayat elections for all districts barring Kheda and Banaskantha, and 209 Talukas will be held along with the elections of 53 Municipalities and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in October 2015. Elections for Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Surat and Jamnagar Municipal Corporations will also be held in December 2015.