After the successful conduct of the Assembly election the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J and K) is headed for another round of electioneering to elect urban local bodies and representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Saturday dropped clear hints that the UT administration is gearing up to conduct Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies polls in the region early next year after the winter season.
Sinha made this statement while addressing a gathering of farmers at the venue of the annual Jhiri Mela in Jammu.
LG also paid obeisance to Baba Jitto at his Samadhi in Jhiri Village.
Sinha made a categoric announcement that Panchayat and urban local body elections will be held soon. The revision of electoral rolls is already underway in the region.
The last panchayat elections were held in November 2019. The term of the existing panchayats ended in December-January, 2023-24.
J and K has a total of 4,292 panchayats which include 2,182 in Kashmir and 2,110 in Jammu valley. Also, the terms of office of the municipal corporations in both Jammu and Srinagar expired last November.
After the conduct of panchayat and urban body polls, all democratic processes, including those at the grassroots level, will be completed in J and K post abrogation of Article 370.
Political parties are also gearing up in advance and have already launched their mass contact programs to reach out to the electorate. The National Conference, which won the maximum number of seats across the Kashmir valley, is now focusing on expanding its base across the Jammu region.
