What happened
The Rajasthan High Court ordered the Bhajan Lal Sharma government back in November 2025 to hold overdue panchayat and urban local body elections by April 15, 2026; that deadline came and went, and the state then asked the court to push polls all the way to December. On July 17, the High Court rejected the request for a further delay, ordering elections to be completed by July 31 and directing the state government and State Election Commission to submit a firm schedule by July 20 — with responsible officials told to personally appear in court that day with complete information. The entire holdup traces back to the Rajasthan OBC Commission, which still hasn't finished the survey needed to carve out OBC-reserved seats, despite the court separately ordering it in June to expedite the report. Congress leader and former MLA Sanyam Lodha, who filed the contempt petition, alleges the state has been intentionally sitting on local body elections for close to a year and a half.