Rajasthan scraps 3-decade-old two-child norm for local body polls
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Jaipur: In a landmark move, the Rajasthan Cabinet on Wednesday approved the removal of the decades-old two-child norm for contesting Panchayati Raj and urban local body elections, ending a restriction that had been in place for nearly 30 years.
With the change, candidates with more than two children will now be eligible to contest panchayat and municipal elections. The provision, originally introduced in 1995 during the government led by former Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, had long shaped the state’s local governance framework.
Announcing the decision, Law Minister Jogaram Patel said the Cabinet approved the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Rajasthan Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2026. “With these amendments, the restriction barring candidates with more than two children from contesting Panchayat and municipal elections will be removed. Both Bills will be passed during the current Assembly session,” he added.
Patel noted that the two-child norm was originally introduced as a population control measure but said that the socio-political context has changed over the years, rendering the provision outdated.
The removal of the restriction is expected to significantly alter the local political landscape. Several grassroots leaders and prospective candidates previously disqualified under the rule will now be eligible to contest elections. Leaders from both the BJP and Congress at village and district levels had been affected by the norm. Political observers say the change could broaden participation and intensify competition in upcoming Panchayati Raj and urban local body polls.
The demand to scrap the two-child norm had been raised repeatedly in the Assembly over the years. Legislators across party lines, including Congress MLA Hemaram Chaudhary and BJP MLA Chandrabhan Singh Akya, had questioned why the restriction applied only to Panchayat and municipal elections, and not to Assembly or Lok Sabha polls. Social organisations and public representatives had also submitted memorandums arguing that the rule was discriminatory and inconsistent.
In another major decision, the Cabinet approved the Ayurveda and Naturopathy University Bill, paving the way for the establishment of a new Ayurveda University in Ajmer to promote traditional medicine education and research.
Deputy Chief Minister Premchand Bairwa announced the creation of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Economic Offences, headquartered in Jodhpur, which will focus on curbing banking and financial fraud, share market and multi-level marketing scams, and land fraud through cooperative societies. Around 60 posts have been sanctioned for the new body.
Industry Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the estimated cost of the Bharat Mandapam project on Jaipur’s B-2 bypass has been revised from Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 5,800 crore. He added that the project is expected to generate revenue exceeding the investment and will not burden the state exchequer.
The Cabinet also approved the allocation of 53 acres of land for an iron ore mining project in Udaipur, with an estimated investment of Rs 500 crore. The project is expected to boost industrial activity and create employment opportunities in the region.
With IANS inputs