Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Rajasthan Cabinet Approves OBC Quota Report for Local Bodies
The government of Rajasthan has decided to give people from certain communities, called OBCs, a fair chance to become leaders in town and village councils.
To do this, they asked an expert group, called the OBC Commission, to study how many people belong to these communities.
The group's teams travelled across the state and collected information from about 74-75 lakh people.
They found 92 different OBC groups and noticed that 11 of them are very powerful in politics.
The Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and other ministers approved this expert group's plan at meetings on a Friday evening.
Now, some seats in local elections will be saved for people from OBC groups.
The government will also make sure that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes get seats based on how many people they have.
All reserved seats together cannot be more than half of all the seats.
This starts the election process, and the voting must be finished by November 15, 2026.
The Rajasthan Cabinet and Council of Ministers approved the State OBC Commission's report on reservation in urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions.
The report was cleared at two meetings on Friday evening chaired by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.
The commission, headed by Madan Lal Bhati, submitted the report to Chief Minister Sharma on August 5 after surveying around 74-75 lakh people.
The commission identified 92 OBC castes, of which 11 were found to be politically dominant and influential.
The approval paves the way for OBC seat reservation within the 50% ceiling and for local body elections to be completed by November 15, 2026.
- Who
- The Rajasthan State Cabinet and Council of Ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, and the State OBC Commission headed by Madan Lal Bhati.
- What
- Approval of the OBC Commission's report providing reservation for OBC members in urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions, clearing the way for local body elections.
- When
- The report was approved at Cabinet meetings on Friday evening; it was submitted to the Chief Minister on August 5; elections must be completed by November 15, 2026.
- Where
- Rajasthan, India.
- Why
- To provide political reservation to OBCs within the 50% quota ceiling and to begin the election process for municipal bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions ahead of the Rajasthan High Court's deadline.
- State
- Rajasthan
- Report
- State OBC Commission report on reservation in urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions
- Commission head
- Madan Lal Bhati
- Report submitted
- August 5
- People surveyed
- Around 74-75 lakh
- OBC castes identified
- 92, of which 11 are politically dominant
- Reservation ceiling
- 50% combined quota limit
- Election deadline
- November 15, 2026, set by the Rajasthan High Court