As expected, the 96 municipal council and panchayat elections were put off till further notice, on Thursday. Coincidentally, the state government also decided to elect city council, city panchayat and village sarpanchs directly from the people instead of elected representatives.

The State Election Commission said in a statement that the decision has come in view of the hearing of the other backward class quota in the Supreme Court. The next hearing is on July 19, when the court is expected to decide on the empirical data provided by a dedicated commission for OBCs.