J&K gears up for local body polls

The Municipal elections were last held in J&K in September 2018, in four phases and on a party basis. J&K has two municipal corporations, 19 municipal councils and 57 municipal committees.

A total of 75 lakh voters have been registered after summary revision of electoral rolls, they added.

The polls to all the 4,290 village panchayats across J&K were on non-party basis in eight phases during November – December 2018, leading to the election of 3,459 sarpanches and 22,214 panches. While these elected panchayats were constituted on January 10, 2019, the remaining 1011 sarpanch constituencies and 11,639 panch constituencies were filled up through byelection held in February 2020.

The Block Development Councils (BDC) elections will also be held, as their terms will end ten months ahead of the completion of their five year term along with village panchayats. The term of both these rural local bodies has to be co-terminus as per provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, they added. An electoral college comprising the elected village sarpanches and panches elect the respective BDC chairpersons in all the 228 blocks of the UT.

About the District Development Councils (DDCs), officials said that these are likely to be held on schedule in 2026 after the completion of five year terms of these elected bodies. The maiden DDC elections were held on party basis in all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir in November and December 2022.

Admitting that it is ideal to have the electoral process for all three tiers of the Panchayati raj system completed within a period of three months as provided under the Act, officials said the government and the political parties have to take a call on DDCs. All political parties may not agree to the preponing of DDC elections two years ahead of schedule, an official said.