Gandhinagar: The Gujarat State Election Commission today announced that elections for 8,326 Gram Panchayats in the state will be held on June 22, 2025. A total of 1.30 crore voters are expected to cast their votes in these village-level elections, which will be held from 7 AM to 6 PM on voting day.

As per the schedule announced by State Election Commissioner S. Muralikrishna in a press conference this afternoon, voting for the Gram Panchayat elections will be held on June 22, and the counting of votes will take place on June 25. The official election notification will be issued on June 2. Candidates will be able to file their nomination papers until June 9. Scrutiny of the nominations will be conducted on June 10, and candidates can withdraw their nominations by June 11.

Among these 8,326 Gram Panchayats across 33 districts of the state, 4,688 will go to regular polls, while 3,638 will face by-elections.

With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect from today in the relevant areas. This election marks a significant step in local governance, as Gram Panchayats play a crucial role in grassroots administration and development across rural Gujarat.

The elections had been delayed due to procedural complications related to OBC reservation policies. The state government had proposed increasing the OBC reservation quota from 10% to 27% in village panchayat elections. This led to the formation of the Zaveri Commission and the passage of a related law in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

However, the election process was put on hold because the legal and administrative procedures linked to the new law were still pending. With those hurdles now resolved, the path is clear for the elections to move forward. Elections will now be held for those Gram Panchayats whose terms have expired or will expire between April 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025.

The State Election Commission has urged both candidates and voters to strictly adhere to all election guidelines and maintain peaceful conduct throughout the process.

Further details and notifications regarding polling stations and election staff will be released soon by the authorities. DeshGujarat