Arunachal panchayat polls to be held very soon: Pema Khandu

Panchayat polls in Arunachal Pradesh will be held "very soon" and the state Election Commission is "working overtime" for it, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Tuesday.

The five-year term of the last elected panchayat in the frontier state expired in April 2018.

However, a change in the structure -- from the three- tier panchayati raj system to a two-tier one -- delayed the polls, officials said.

"Elections for the first time will be conducted for only gram sabha and zilla parishad. Therefore, it is mandatory that our officials are well equipped with the system and the process," Khandu said at a workshop here on pre-panchayat election awareness campaign.

Khandu said an all-party legislative meet has been convened on Wednesday in connection with the polls, which would be conducted "very soon".

"Arunachal Pradesh, with its vast resources, has the potential to develop on all fronts even without central or external aids. We only need to have the will and eligible members in governance. I hope this panchayat elections would be a new beginning for us in this direction," the CM added.