Sri Vijaya Puram, October 27: A total of 157 of the 450 seats in North and Middle Andaman district have been earmarked for women ahead of the 2027 Panchayat elections, following a draw of lots conducted by the Union Territory Election Commission as part of the preparations for the local body polls.
The exercise took place at the conference hall of the Zilla Parishad, North and Middle Andaman, at Lucknow in Mayabunder. It determined the seats to be reserved for women, with representatives of recognised political parties and members of the public attending the proceedings.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Election Commissioner for Union Territories, conducted the draw in the presence of S. K. Gupta, Secretary, Sushant Padha, Deputy Commissioner of North and Middle Andaman, and S. Krishna Chaitanya, Additional District Magistrate of North and Middle Andaman. Other district administration officials were also present.
The draw forms part of the preparatory process for the 2027 Panchayat elections, with the reservation of seats determining which constituencies will be set aside for women candidates. The participation of political party representatives and members of the public provided an opportunity for them to witness the process.
The exercise covered all 450 Panchayat seats in the district, of which 157 have been identified for reservation for women. The final list of reserved seats, however, is yet to be formally notified by the Union Territory Election Commission.
The commission’s notification will establish the final list of constituencies reserved for women ahead of the election. Until that notification is issued, the draw remains part of the preparatory proceedings for the upcoming Panchayat polls.
