Ninth Panchayat Polls in Uttar Pradesh

Despite the attempts of the Mulayam Singh government to postpone the panchayat elections on the grounds of reservation and delimitation, the ninth panchayat elections were held in August 2005 in Uttar Pradesh. It was a unique democratic process which was gigantic and energised the rural people. This is an analysis of the magnitude of the exercise, the election campaign, gender issues and the financial aspect of the election process.