Jaipur: The first phase of Rajasthan’s panchayat elections will formally get underway Thursday with public notices issued, setting the ball rolling for elections to zila parishad and panchayat samiti members as well as panch and sarpanch.The first phase will begin with the departure and arrival of polling parties for the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections on Oct 21, followed by polling for the two tiers on Oct 22. The process will then shift to village-level elections, with nominations for panch and sarpanch posts scheduled to be held on Oct 23. Voting for these posts will take place on Oct 24.The phase will conclude with the election of the up-sarpanch on Oct 25.With the schedule now entering the implementation stage, election officials will begin the process of accepting nominations and making other arrangements required for polling.State Election Commission announced the four-phase panchayat election schedule on Oct 3, covering elections to 41 Zila Parishads, 457 Panchayat Samitis and 14,403 Gram Panchayats across the state.
