(1)The First General Election or the General Election, as the case may be , of the members of a Gram Panchayat shall be held under the provisions of this Act and of the Rules and orders made thereunder before such date as the State Election Commission in consultation with the State Government may by one or more notification in the official gazette specify.(2)A General Election to constitute the Gram Panchayat shall be held-(a)before the expiry of its duration specified in Section 18, or(b)before the expiration of a period of six months fron the date of its dissolution.(3)Election in respect of casual or other vacancies shall be held at such time as may be prescribed.(4)If for any reason the First General Election or General Election can not be held within the time specified in the notification referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the State Election Commission in consultation with the State Government shall fix another date within which such election shall be held.(5)The names of all the persons elected to be members of a Gram Panchayat at the First General Election or General Election shall be published by the State ElectionCommissioner in the official gazette and upon such publication being made such Gram Panchayat shall be deemed to be duly constituted.(6)[ Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act if any Gram is created after any General Election following exclusion of area from a Local Authority, the Gram Panchayat for such newly created Gram shall be constituted by direct election under the provision of this Act and Rules framed thereunder and such election in the newly created Gram shall be deemed to be the First General Election.] [Inserted by the Tripura Panchayats (Second Amendment) Act, 1998, w.e.f. 15.10.1998.]
