Rajasthan OBC Commission to submit reservation recommendations for Panchayati Raj and urban body polls within three months.
Panel conducting surveys of OBC families and consultations with institutions, parties and scholars as per Supreme Court directions.
Terms of over 11,000 gram panchayats end in 2025, with elections scheduled across the state.
The Rajasthan State Other Backward Classes (Political Representation) Commission will submit its recommendations on OBC reservation for Panchayati Raj and urban local body elections within about three months, according to a letter sent by the commission to the State Election Commission (SEC).
In the letter, Ashok Kumar Jain, Secretary (Advisor) to the commission, said the panel must carry out a “contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry” into the nature of backwardness of OBC communities across local bodies. This follows directions of the “Hon’ble Supreme Court”, with the commission required to assess backwardness at all levels—rural and urban—and recommend the extent of reservation for upcoming elections within a stipulated timeframe, reported ANI.
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Jain wrote that the commission has begun work and is surveying OBC families across the state. It is also gathering data through discussions with institutions, political parties and research scholars engaged in OBC welfare. The aim is to finalise recommendations for each electoral unit for both Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Bodies “in about three months”, according to the letter cited by ANI.
The SEC has flagged the electoral timetable: the five-year term of 6,759 gram panchayats ended in January 2025, and 704 more concluded in March 2025. A further 3,847 gram panchayats will see their terms end in September–October 2025, for which general elections are due.
(With inputs from ANI)
