Himachal Pradesh Panchayat Elections: Process begins, voter list released in Shimla

January 31, 2026

The election process for Panchayati Raj institutions in Himachal Pradesh has begun. According to the orders of the State Election Commission, District Commissioners have started publishing the voter lists. The Shimla District Commissioner’s office released the voter list on Friday evening at 5 PM.

Those whose names are not on the voter list can now register their votes by paying Rs. 2 at the Panchayat Secretary and BDO offices. People can register their votes in panchayats for Rs. 2 and in urban local bodies for Rs. 50. New voters can register their names in the voter list until the election schedule is released. Names will not be removed from the list that has already been made public.

Himachal Pradesh has 3577 panchayats. According to the State Election Commission, there are more than 55 lakh voters in the Himachal Panchayat area. This number will increase as new voters are added. Secondly, 31 panchayats in Himachal have been reorganized and their boundaries redrawn. The file for this has also reached the Chief Minister’s office. After approval, these will be brought into the public domain, and objections and suggestions will be sought from the public within 15 days.

It is noteworthy that the High Court has ordered that elections for Panchayati Raj institutions be held by April 30. The Commission is to submit its reply to the High Court on February 28. The State Election Commission has already clarified that it has no objection to the creation of new panchayats. The voter lists for 3,548 panchayats, excluding 29 panchayats, are ready. They only need to be made public. State Election Commission Secretary Surjit Rathore said that the District Commissioners have been given time till January 30 to publish the voter lists.

Today is the last day of the term of Panchayati Raj institutions in Himachal Pradesh.
From February 1, the powers of the Panchayati Raj institutions will be transferred to administrators. The government is to appoint the administrators. The file from the Panchayati Raj Department has been sent to the Chief Minister’s office. It outlines two methods for appointing administrators: either the powers of the panchayats should be handed over to the Panchayat Secretary or to a committee.

The transfer of powers of the Zila Parishad to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and the powers of the Panchayat Samitis to the Block Development Officer (BDO) is under consideration. From February 1st, the seals issued by the Panchayati Raj Department will also become obsolete. New administrators will oversee development works in the panchayats. Meanwhile, Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh said that the notification for appointing administrators in the panchayats would be issued on Saturday.