SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has begun preparations for the upcoming elections to municipalities and village Panchayats, whose terms are set to conclude on 15th November this year and 9th January 2024, respectively, Indian Express reported.
On 28th July, the Chief Electoral Officer issued a notification regarding the revision of electoral rolls for all municipalities, including both the Municipal Corporations in Jammu and Srinagar.
Sources within the Election Commission have confirmed to Indian Express their readiness to conduct the rural polls as well, with the final electoral rolls scheduled to be published on 25th August.
The previous Municipal elections in J&K took place in September 2018 over four phases, organised along party lines. Within J&K, there are two municipal corporations, 19 municipal councils, and 57 municipal committees.
Following a summary revision of electoral rolls, a total of 7.5 million voters have been registered, as per official reports.
The elections for all 4,290 village panchayats across J&K occurred in eight non-party-based phases during November to December 2018. This led to the selection of 3,459 sarpanches and 22,214 panches. While these elected panchayats were formed on 10th January 2019, the remaining 1,011 sarpanch constituencies and 11,639 panch constituencies were filled through by-elections conducted in February 2020.
The upcoming Block Development Councils (BDC) elections will coincide with the village panchayat elections as their terms conclude ten months prior to the completion of their five-year term. The synchronisation of these rural local bodies’ terms is mandated by the provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act.
An electoral college consisting of elected village sarpanches and panches will elect the respective BDC chairpersons across all 228 blocks of the Union Territory.
Regarding the District Development Councils (DDCs), officials, as per Indian Express have indicated that these elections are likely to proceed as scheduled in 2026, following the completion of the five-year terms of the currently elected bodies. The inaugural DDC elections, held on a party basis, were conducted across all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir in November and December 2022.
While acknowledging the Act’s stipulation of completing the electoral process for all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system within a three-month timeframe, officials have pointed out that a decision on the DDCs rests with the government and political parties. It is noted that not all political parties may agree to the proposal of advancing DDC elections by two years from the original schedule.
