Oozing with confidence after a landslide victory in the Gujarat assembly polls, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the state election department to hold elections to 89 local self-governing bodies, that are pending, at the earliest.
After taking over reins for second time as chief minister, Modi recommended that elections should be held "at the earliest" and "simultaneously" for 89 municipalities, 15 taluka panchayats and two district panchayats.
Besides 89 municipalities, elections are pending for 15 taluka panchayats that include 12 in Banaskantha district, Kathlal and Kapadwanj in Kheda district and Gandhinagar taluka panchayat, an official statement by the state government said in Ahmedabad.
The elections to local bodies had been postponed five times, the first in November 2000 due to drought, in March 2001 due to an earthquake, again in March 2002 due to riots, in June 2002 because of drought in Saurashtra and in October this year due to revision of electoral rolls.
Panchayat elections were also deferred thrice earlier and have not been held since March 2001.
