Gujarat Poll Blooper: Underage Sarpanch Elected As Officials Missed Checking Her Age
A young woman became a Sarpanch in Gujarat even though she did not meet the minimum age criteria for the role.
Published : July 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM IST
Mehsana: Believe it or not, an underage woman was elected as Sarpanch in Gujarat as authorities accepted her nomination papers without checking the age criteria in what is now staring back at them as a glaring example of administrative negligence.
Afroz Abbas Mian Parmar who was elected as Sarpanch in Gilosan village, Mehsana district, was a few months short to meet the minimum age requirement of 21 years to contest the polls.
The Gilosan Gram Panchayat elections were held on June 22. According to the Election Commission rules, the age limit for contesting for the post of Sarpanch in the state is 21 years.
Section 28 (persons qualified to vote and be elected) of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993 read: "Every person who has attained the age of 21 years and whose name is in the list of voters shall, unless disqualified under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force, be qualified to be elected from any electoral division."
However, Afroz was allowed to file her nomination papers despite being a few months below the age limit. Her Aadhaar card shows a date of birth of 8 December 2004, which makes her 20 years, 5 months and 24 days old on June 1, 2025. Afroz had submitted her form to the Mehsana Taluka Panchayat Extension Officer and Returning Officer Nayan Prajapati.
Due to the negligence of the officer in checking the nomination papers, the form was marked valid, and she was allowed to contest the election. On June 25, when the results of the Sarpanch election of Gilosan Gram Panchayat were declared, Afroz was declared victorious.
The negligence of the election officer came to light on Friday while information about the winning candidates was being collated for official records. As the blunder was spotted, the Taluka Development Officer was instructed to take strict action against the officer.
Taluka Development Officer Urvish Valand told ETV Bharat that he has sent a report to the representative of the State Election Commission and the Province Officer to take action against the election officer who was negligent in verifying the nomination form. He said the final decision on the matter, including Afroz's candidacy, will be taken by the Election Commission.
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