Lucknow: Despite the announcement of census dates by the central govt, the upcoming Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections are likely to be conducted on time, said a senior state election official.The 2027 census of India will to be conducted in two phases– House listing and Housing Census from April to Sept 2026 and Population Enumeration in Feb 2027. The tentative dates of polls point towards the final publication of the updated electoral rolls by March 28, paving the way for the three-phase election. “There is no plan to delay or postpone the electoral process due to the census, as both are separate mandates—census being conducted by the central govt while panchayat elections fall under the jurisdiction of the state govt,” an official said. The official acknowledged that some petitioners have approached the court seeking timely declaration of the polls but affirmed that the poll body is proceeding with preparations, ensuring readiness on their end. A key concern had been manpower availability, given that both the census and elections rely on similar pools of govt staff, including teachers, shiksha mitras and lekhpals. However, election officials have clarified that there is no significant overlap expected in the timing, and they can manage both processes independently. One of the notable advancements being planned for this election cycle is the implementation of Face Recognition System (FRS) to prevent duplicate voting. If implemented, it would be the first large-scale deployment of such technology in the state. The system would work by capturing a voter’s photo at the booth in real-time, instantly cross-checking it against a central database to block any second attempt. This may require an additional staff member per booth, but officials say the system is largely software-based and can be managed with existing mobile devices. They are also considering contingency plans in case of signal or technical failure with parallel manual systems as a backup. In terms of scale, the state anticipates needing staff for approximately 56,000 booths, corresponding to the number of gram panchayats. With 4-5 personnel required per booth, the total manpower required would depend on whether the elections are conducted in three or four phases—a decision that hinges on staff availability and the finalization of the voter list. On the issue of voter data, the official addressed a discrepancy between the state’s rural voter count (around 12.69 crore) and the election commission of India’s overall UP figure (approx 12.55 crore). This gap, attributed to duplicate entries and the exclusion of urban data from the panchayat rolls, prompted a re-verification drive. The state is now conducting district and block-level deduplication, aiming to finalise a clean list.
