Rajasthan to Reintroduce Education Criteria for Local Polls; CM Approval Awaited

• Rajasthan government proposes reintroducing educational qualifications for Panchayati Raj and urban local body elections.
• Local Self Government minister Jhabbir Singh Kharra sent the proposal to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for approval.
• Proposed qualifications: secondary grade for village heads, secondary/senior secondary for ward councillors.
• Implementation requires amendments to Panchayati Raj Act and Municipalities Act, to be passed in the upcoming Budget Session.
• This move echoes a 2015 decision by then CM Vasundhara Raje, which was reversed by the Congress government in 2019.

Why It Matters: Rajasthan plans to restore educational requirements for local elections, pending CM Bhajan Lal Sharma's approval.