Bhubaneswar: The State Election Commission has decided to defer the by-elections to various vacant posts in the panchayati raj institutions in view of the IMD reports predicting early onset of monsoon in Odisha.  

The SEC in Odisha yesterday issued a notification for conducting by-elections to vacant posts of 1,043 ward members, 43 sarpanchs, 40 panchayat samiti members and five zilla parishad members between May 22 and June 25.

However, the district-level officials, common people and the prospective candidates informed the SEC that the by-elections could be disrupted due to the early onset of monsoon in the state.

Taking this into consideration, the SEC immediately sought a report from the IMD regional centre in the capital city here.

In its report, the IMD mentioned that the conditions are likely to become favourable for the onset of monsoon in Kerala in next three to four days.

The conditions are also likely to become favourable for some more parts of South and Central Bay of Bengal, North Bay of Bengal and some parts of Northeastern states during the same period. Hence, there could be an early onset of monsoon in Odisha, said the IMD.

Keeping this in mind, the SEC has decided to defer the panchayat by-polls in Odisha and cancel the yesterday’s notification in this regard.

The panchayat by-elections will be held once the monsoon season is over in the state, said the SEC today.