(1.) "True democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the Centre. It has to be worked from below by the people of every village". ... Mahatma Gandhi It is a dream of Mahatma, the Gram Raj or Panchayat Raj which has been in existence for centuries together in ancient India.
(2.) The elections in the local bodies are conducted by each State to make the third tier governance apart from Parliament and State Assembly. Panchayat Raj has been given recognition by virtue of amendment made to the Constitution, namely 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 with effect from 24.04.1993. It is the bottom-line governance, where people's participation in whole unit, namely Village, Union and District Level, is recognised. The local governance is more vital and important than the other two tiers. Therefore, all the norms and procedures prescribed for election to the State legislature and Parliament would deem to apply to the Local Body elections also.
(3.) Whether the contestants to the Local Bodies really represent the people or not is a Million-Dollar question? The person, who is to be elected by the people, has to be a person with integrity, moral values and ethics. Mahatma Gandhi said