Jaipur, April 2 -- Panchayat and urban local body elections in Rajasthan are unlikely to be held before September 2026, as the tenure of the Rajasthan OBC Commission has been extended till September-end, delaying the reservation process crucial for conducting polls, a minister said. Urban development and housing minister, Jhabar Singh Kharra, told HT that the deadline was extended due to some errors found in the data. "The OBC commission sought the data from the local administrations who conducted a survey across all the wards, municipalities, panchayats. However, the commission found several errors and mismatch in the final data that was submitted by the administrations. Hence, they had directed a further survey which will take time." "The local administrations told the commission that they are lacking manpower and time to conduct this survey due to SIR work and upcoming Census work. Therefore, the commission asked for a six-month extension. The latest deadline is September 30 following which we will conduct the election." According to officials, the commission did not find the data from over 400 villages. "The data was asked from the Panchayati Raj department which stated that the data is available only with the planning and statistics department. Due to the unavailability of this data, a further survey has been necessary. After the survey, it will also be verified further by the commission to prepare the final report and submit to the government," said an officer from the OBC commission. However, this delay in the election might violate the Supreme Court's order that directed the government to conduct the poll by April. In December, a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi was hearing a plea by Congress leader and former legislator Sanyam Lodha, who had challenged the high court's order and pressed for immediate municipal elections, alleging undue delay in the electoral process. The high court had allowed the State to complete the elections by April 2026. Meanwhile, the Congress leader Sanyam Lodha also filed a contempt plea in the high court and issued a notice to the state election commission due to the delay in announcing the schedule of the election. Kharra said, "The court also ordered to conduct a proper survey by the OBC commission which was pending since 2022 before conducting this election. It is taking time due to some practical issues. We are adhering to the laws."...