PATNA, July 18 -- The Bihar government has approved the delimitation or redrawing of the geographical boundaries of the panchayat bodies based on the 2011 census, likely moving the polls for three-tier panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) from the expected date of late 2026 to the middle of next year. According to officials in the state panchayat raj department, the State Election Commission-shepherded exercise will take 7 to 8 months in completion. Bihar is conducting such delimitation after more than three decades. The SEC will reserve seats according to the quota after delimitation is done. Officials said the exercise aims to bring balance to the panchayati system and align it with population distribution. "This will bring geographical and social uniformity in panchayats," said an official. Officials inform that the reservation in the upcoming panchayat polls will be done in a new format. Once delimitation is complete by the end of April 2027, a "dedicated commission" will be tasked to ascertain the political backwardness of other backward classes (OBCs) based on the triple test criteria, as per the Supreme Court's guidelines. "The entire process of delimitation and reservation of seats would take at least a year or possibly more. In that case, the panchayat polls would be delayed and could only be held next year once the entire procedure is complete," said a senior panchayati raj functionary, seeking anonymity. There are over 250,000 posts in the PRIs in Bihar. It is also known as rural local self government. Officials in the panchayati raj department said there are chances that the number of posts could increase after the delimitation process. As per the laid-down norms and yardsticks for delimitation, each gram panchayat would comprise a population of 7,000 persons whereas panchayat samitis would have a population of 5,000, and the district boards would have a population of 50,000 persons. "As the population has increased according to the 2011 census, there are all chances the number of seats in panchayat bodies would increase. In that way, the reservation of seats would also change," said another official in the panchayati raj department. The last delimitation of PRIs in Bihar took place in 1993-94 and old timers recalled that the process had taken more than three years to complete. " Now, with digitisation and modern processes available, the exercise may take less time but it is still a cumbersome process," officials said. Panchayati raj minister Deepak Prakash said that the government's move to carry out the delimitation of panchayat bodies would take some time. "We are carrying out the delimitation exercise, which will start soon. Of course we want to hold the panchayat polls in a timely manner but the processes take some time," the minister said. Meanwhile, as the panchayati polls are expected to be delayed, it would give sitting panchayat representatives like mukhiyas (gram panchayat heads), pramukhs and district chairpersons extended time in their terms. Terms of most of them expire in December 2026. According to officials, even if the state government sets up an advisory committees to run such bodies, these elected representatives remain members of such committees and thus play a frontal role in managing their affairs. Last panchayat election in Bihar was held in 2021....