EC Oversight as 19-Year-Old Elected Sarpanch in Gujarat

A 19-year-old girl was elected as sarpanch of Gilosan garam panchayat in Gujarat's Mehsana district in violation of the minimum age requirement of 21 years, exposing a lapse in the conduct of the poll process by state election commission officials.

- DILIP SINGH KSHATRIYA @ Ahmedabad

The irregularity came to light not during the election process, but while preparing a list of young sarpanches to be felicitated by the chief minister at an upcoming event in Gandhinagar, said a source.

During the verification of documents, district panchayat officials discovered a mismatch in the age of the newly elected sarpanch, Afrozbanu Sipai. Her Aadhaar card shows a birth date of 8 December 2004, while her school leaving certificate mentions 7 January 2005, making her 19 years and 8 months old, so ineligible to contest.