Reservation lottery fixes local leadership map across Ajmer
A lottery held on 23 September at the sub-divisional level finalised reservations for sarpanch and ward panch posts in 261 gram panchayats across 10 panchayat samitis in Ajmer district. The exercise, conducted to determine which panchayat seats will be reserved for women and for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), resulted in 130 seats being reserved for women.
District officials said the reservations across the gram panchayats include 48 seats for SCs, 9 for STs, 48 for OBCs and 156 unreserved seats. The lottery covered the panchayat samitis of Ajmer Rural, Badlya, Pisangan, Sawar, Sarwar, Kekri, Arai, Silora, Srinagar and Bhinay, where the chairperson and member posts were similarly allocated.
- Total gram panchayat seats: 261
- Seats reserved for women: 130
- SC reservations: 48 seats
- ST reservations: 9 seats
- OBC reservations: 48 seats
- Unreserved seats: 156
The lottery specified category-wise reservations for individual gram panchayats. In several panchayat samitis a substantial number of seats were earmarked for women, reflecting the state-mandated quota aimed at increasing female participation in local governance.
"The lottery determines which seat in each gram panchayat will be reserved for which category," a district official said, summarising the administrative purpose of the exercise.
Examples from key panchayat samitis
Officials provided details for multiple samitis. In Ajmer Rural Panchayat Samiti there are 26 gram panchayats. Of these, four seats were reserved for SCs, five for OBCs and 17 remained unreserved. The lottery resulted in 13 seats of the 26 being reserved for women.
At the Bhinay Panchayat Samiti, the distribution included both unreserved and reserved categories across its gram panchayats; the lottery left 15 seats reserved for women in that samiti. In Srinagar Panchayat Samiti, which has 30 gram panchayats, six seats were declared for SCs, six for OBCs, one for STs and 17 were left unreserved; the lottery set aside 15 seats for women.
| Panchayat Samiti | Total GPs | Women-reserved seats |
|---|---|---|
| Ajmer Rural | 26 | 13 |
| Bhinay | (not specified) | 15 |
| Srinagar | 30 | 15 |
The lottery also named reservation status for specific gram panchayats within samitis. For instance, in Ajmer Rural gram panchayats such as Ghooghra and Nand were marked SC Open; Daurai and Kadel were marked SC Women; while several gram panchayats including Ajaysar, Gagwana and Narwar were listed under OBC Open. A number of panchayats were listed as unreserved or reserved for women in the unreserved category.
Local implications and next steps
The lottery fixes which seats will be contestable by which categories at the time of panchayat polls and is a compulsory administrative step under reservation rules. By assigning 130 seats to women, the exercise substantially shapes the composition of village-level leadership for the coming term. Candidates and political workers in affected gram panchayats will now prepare nominations according to the categories notified for their seats.
Officials at the district headquarters conducted the draw for chairperson and member posts of the 10 samitis. The detailed category-wise list will be used by returning officers when notification of elections is issued, ensuring that only eligible candidates in the specified categories can file nominations for the reserved posts.
Residents and local activists said the determination of which seats are reserved influences local power dynamics and development priorities at the village level. The lottery now provides a clear administrative blueprint for the forthcoming panchayat elections across Ajmer district.
