Panchayat and urban body elections are expected to be held in Jammu Kashmir by the end of this year, officials confirmed today.
Following the conclusion of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, preparations for these local elections are already underway, with security forces set to remain in place to ensure a peaceful process.
The decision to retain these forces was made to avoid the high costs of redeploying them.
The terms of the municipal corporations in Jammu Srinagar expired last November, making these elections overdue.
Legal requirements mandate that elections be held either before or shortly after the end of the corporation’s term.
The government is now prioritizing the completion of these polls.
Security forces were initially deployed for the Amarnath Yatra and have remained for the subsequent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
After the Panchayat and urban body elections, democratic processes at all levels, including grassroots representation, will be completed in the region since the abrogation of Article 370.
In 2018, Jammu Kashmir held non-party Panchayat elections, with over 27,000 panches and sarpanches elected.
However, more than 12,000 seats remained vacant, prompting bypolls in 2020.
The upcoming Panchayat polls, set for 2024, will take place after a fresh delimitation of revenue villages, known as ‘Halqas,’ following the completion of the five-year terms of almost 30,000 panchayat members earlier this year.