CHANDIGARH: The Punjab chief minister. Beant Singh is likely to face a formidable challenges Akali fictions, lunge from various especially the Akali Dal (B) in the coming months.
His popularity among the Sikhs and the peasantry his w constituencies, would be on test as elections to the panchayat samitis and the zila parish are on the cards.
The state government had given a commitment in the court that it would hold elections to the two bodies before February 28, 1995.
The elections to 24 municipal committees are also due this year. The Congress is not very comfort able in these small towns which were earlier classified as notified areas.
Unlike in the past, the entire rural population and not just the village sarpanches would constitute the electorate for the panchayat samitis and Zila parishads.
Though these elections are not — fought on party lines, the party affiliation of the winning candidates are often evident.
Forty per cent of the members (between six to ten) of the similes will be directly elected from the territorial constituencies each representing about 15,000 people.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 29, 1994
