Shimla, June 3 -- Nearly 63% of the elected representatives of Himachal panchayat polls have an educational qualification of 10th grade or lower, as per the shared by the state election commission (SEC). Out of the 31,002 public representatives, 443 (1.43%) are illiterate; 13,786 (44.46%) are matric pass and 5,748 (18.54%) have an educational qualification lower than that. Meanwhile, only 1,251 (4.03%) hold an MA degree, 2,601 (8.39%) are graduates, and 7,177 (23.15%) have passed the 12th grade. However, when it comes to the urban local bodies, in stark contrast, 28% elected representatives are graduates, 7.94% are below matric, 1.59% are illiterate, matric constitute 14.29%, post graduate 23.81% and senior secondary 23.81%. The panchayats in Himachal Pradesh just got young as 34.99% elected persons are between to the 21 to 40 age group, the SEC data reveals. In the panchayat polls, 13% of the winners were youth aged 21 to 30, while 10,848 (34.99%) representatives belonged to the 31 to 40 age group. State also saw more female names then of men in the list. In Solan, Mandi, Palampur, and Dharamshala, 63.49% of the elected councillors are women, while in the panchayats, women have assumed leadership roles in approximately 54% of the seats. However, the 50% reservation policy has also played a significant role in facilitating this increased participation of women. Despite this, in several instances, women have successfully won elections even from unreserved (open) seats. People in the age group of 41 to 50 held greater dominance in the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). This time around, approximately 31,002 representatives-including Pradhans, up-pradhans, ward members, BDC Members, and Zila Parishad Members-were elected in the state's panchayat elections, the SEC data reveals. Meanwhile, 400 councillors were elected in the nagar parishads and nagar panchayats, and 63 councillors were elected across the state's four municipal corporations, the data further shows. Statistics from the SEC indicate that the participation of the economically weaker sections in local politics is relatively low. In the panchayats, only 6.08% of the elected representatives belong to Below Poverty Line families, while in the urban local bodies, a mere 1.6% of the elected councillors hail from such backgrounds. Conversely, 198 taxpayers have been elected to the panchayats; 83 to the municipal councils and nagar panchayats; and 13 to the four municipal corporations....