Patna: Bihar is preparing to hold its three-tier panchayat elections in October and November this year, ahead of the expiry of the current representatives’ tenure in December 2026.
The terms of elected representatives, including mukhiyas and sarpanches, will end in December, making it mandatory for the elections to be completed beforehand.
State Election Commission officials have intensified preparations, with authorities aiming to complete the rural local body polls before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to avoid potential shortages of security personnel.
Nine-Phase Polling Plan
The Bihar State Election Commission is planning to conduct the panchayat elections in nine phases, primarily due to the limited availability of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The commission currently has around 32,000 EVMs and plans to allocate them to districts for two phases at a time. The machines will be used on a rotational basis, with EVMs deployed in the first phase being reused in the third phase and those used in the second phase being redeployed for the fourth phase.
The elections will be conducted using Multi-Post Electronic Voting Machines (MPSV model), which are specifically designed for local body elections. These machines are equipped with a Secure Detachable Memory Module (SDMM) that stores polling data separately after each phase.
Following the completion of polling and counting in each phase, the electronic memory modules will be secured under the supervision of the respective district magistrates.
2011 Census to Determine Reservation and Delimitation
The 2026 panchayat elections will be conducted based on population data from the 2011 Census, as the ongoing national census exercise is yet to be completed.
Reservation for seats ranging from ward members to district council representatives will be determined according to the demographic data available from the 2011 Census.
Under the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act, the tenure of a panchayat begins from the date of its first meeting and remains valid for five years.
The previous panchayat elections in 2021 were conducted in 11 phases between September and late November.
Notification Likely by August-End
According to the State Election Commission, the official notification for the 2026 panchayat elections is expected to be issued in the last week of August or during the first fortnight of September.
The commission has already established timelines for resolving objections related to reservation rosters, population figures and the draft publication of Form-1.
June 15 is the last date for filing claims and objections regarding population data and reservation-related issues. Authorities are currently addressing discrepancies in panchayat delimitation, population records and revised reservation rosters.
After examining all objections and claims, the final gazette notification is expected to be published on June 21, paving the way for the announcement of the election schedule.
Reservation to Change in More Than 4,000 Panchayats
More than 4,000 gram panchayats and over 55,000 wards across Bihar are expected to witness changes in reservation status due to the implementation of a new reservation roster and delimitation exercise.
According to the Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar currently has 8,053 gram panchayats, down from 8,387 in 2021 due to urbanisation and the expansion of municipal bodies.
The state has approximately 1.15 lakh wards, 533 panchayat samitis at the block level and district councils functioning across all 38 districts.
How the New Reservation System Will Work
The reservation system will operate on a rotational basis, meaning seats reserved for specific categories such as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) or women in previous elections may shift to different categories in the current cycle.
Under existing rules, reservation rosters are completely revised after every two election cycles, or 10 years. Since the 2016 and 2021 elections followed the same reservation pattern, a new roster will be implemented for the 2026 elections.
Reservation for SC and ST categories will be determined in proportion to their population in a particular area. Seats in regions with a higher concentration of SC and ST populations will be prioritised for reservation.
Additionally, 50 per cent of all seats are reserved for women, with these reservations also rotating across election cycles.
Technology-Driven Elections
The upcoming elections will feature a range of technologies aimed at improving transparency, security and efficiency.
Each control unit of the Multi-Post EVM will be connected to six ballot units, enabling voters to cast votes for multiple positions—including mukhiya, ward member, panchayat samiti member and district council member—at a single polling station.
A biometric verification system, including fingerprint and iris recognition, is proposed to curb impersonation and duplicate voting.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)-enabled machines will be deployed at counting centres to scan and upload results directly to the commission’s servers, reducing the scope for errors and speeding up the counting process.
Artificial intelligence-powered video analytics platform ‘JARVIS’ will be integrated with CCTV cameras at counting centres to monitor activities and track EVM displays in real time.
Sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations will be monitored through live webcasting, allowing officials at district headquarters and the State Election Commission’s control room to observe polling proceedings remotely.
The commission will also use dedicated digital portals to facilitate online nominations, scrutiny of affidavits, voter information services and access to booth-level details.
