Bhubaneswar: As many as 8,648 nomination papers submitted by candidates for election to various positions in the Panchayati Raj Institutions in Odisha were rejected during scrutiny, officials said Sunday.
During the scrutiny of the nomination papers, 5,544 nominations filed for the election to ward member position were rejected due to various reasons.
Similarly, 1,753 nominations filed for post of Sarpanch, 1,119 for Panchayat Samiti member and 232 Zilla Parishad member were also got rejected, the officials said.
After scrutiny, 2.20 lakh nomination papers have remained valid. Out of the total valid nomination papers, 1,56,753 have remained for the post of ward member, 32,860 for Sarpanch, 27,034 for Panchayat Samiti member and 3,767 for Zilla Parishad member.
As the candidates can withdraw their nomination up to January 25, the final list of candidates to remain in fray for the poll will be known on that day, they said.
The Panchayat elections in Odisha will be held in five phases on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 while results will be declared on February 26, 27 and 28.
The election will be held for 91,913 ward member posts, 6,794 Sarpanches, 6,793 Panchayat Samiti members and 853 Zilla Parishad members.