New season of Panchayat in Raj : When will these panchayats get their new Pradhan Ji?

Thousands of panchayats in Rajasthan are waiting for fresh elections as their term has already ended or is about to end soon. However, when these elections will take place is subject of question and debate as the matter is ongoing in the High Court.

Many panchayats have completed their term

A large number of village panchayats have already completed their five-year term. The term of 6,759 panchayats ended in January 2025. Another 704 panchayats completed their term in March 2025, and 3,847 panchayats are set to finish their term by September–October 2025.

The outgoing Sarpanches who had completed their term were earlier appointed administrators. These panchayats are currently being run by them instead of newly elected representatives in absence of elections.

What did the Court say?

On 18 August 2025, a single bench of the Rajasthan High Court had ordered the government to conduct elections soon and to remove the appointed administrators from the panchayats whose term was over.

The government, however, filed an appeal. On Monday, a division bench of the High Court, led by Justice S.P. Sharma, put a stay (temporary stop) on the earlier decision. This means the elections do not need to be held immediately, and the administrators can continue for now.

Government plans simultaneous polls for all panchayats and local bodies

The state government wants to conduct elections for all panchayats and urban local bodies at the same time, under the concept of 'One State, One Election'.

To manage the situation until then, outgoing Sarpanches whose term had ended were appointed as administrators. This arrangement was made temporarily to ensure that the daily functioning of the panchayats continues smoothly.

What’s next?

Even though the court has given the government more time, thousands of villages in Rajasthan are still without elected local leaders. People are waiting for new elections so that their issues can be handled by representatives they choose themselves.