The authorities in Jammu & Kashmir have put in elaborate security and logistic arrangements to conduct the maiden phase of the elongated panchayat polls on Saturday. As many as 47 Panchayat blocks covering 21 blocks in Jammu province, 16 in Kashmir valley and 10 blocks in Ladakh region are going to polls in the first phase.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer, 427 candidates are in the fray for 536 Sarpanch Halqas and 5951 candidates for 4048 Panch Wards in the State for which voting and counting is scheduled to be held tomorrow.
The polling will take place between 8 in the morning till 2 O’ clock. The Panchayat polls on non party basis will be held in nine phases in 316 Blocks in 4483 Pachayat Halqas comprising of over 35 Thousand Panch Constituencies.
The polls have been scheduled on November 17, 20, 24, 27, 29 and December 01, 04, 08 and 11. Adequate security arrangements in villages and poll bound areas have been put in place to ensure smooth and peaceful panchayat polls in the State.
The last Panchayat elections in the State were held in 2011 after a gap of 20 years and Panchayats completed their term in July 2016.
Instead of EVMs, ballot papers will decide the fate of over 4400 Sarpanches and over 35 thousand Panches.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) imposed on September 16 continues to remain in force.
The total number of electors in the State is over 58 Lakh 54 Thousand who are eligible to cast their votes in Panchayat Elections.
Over 29 Lakh 91 Thousand voters are registered in Kashmir Division whileas 28 Lakh 63 Voters are registered in Jammu Division if the State. Election Commission has devised a scheme to enable migrant Kashmiri Pandits to vote through Postal Ballot in Panchayat Elections.
The Commission announced poll schedules despite the decision of two main political parties National Conference and People's Democratic Party to stay away from Municipal and Panchayat polls.
National Conference was the first mainstream political party that announced boycott of Municipal and Panchayat elections slated this year.
The Party sought clarification from the Central Government about the protection of Article 35 A in and outside the Courts. CPIM and other mainstream political parties also decided to stay away from the polls.
However, Congress, BJP and other parties participated in Municipal elections.
Almost all the main political parties had expressed concerns over the volatile atmosphere prevalent across the State in view of pending petitions in Supreme court seeking abrogation of Article 35 A related to special status of J&K in the Constitution of India.
The Supreme Court has deferred the hearing on these petitions till January next year keeping in view the State Government plea to defer the polls after the conduct of municipal and Panchayat elections.
Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a grouping of separatist political parties, comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik has called for boycott of these elections in the State. The JRL has called for Kashmir wide shutdown on Saturday against the polls. A prominent militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has issued warning sprinkle sulphuric and hydrochloric acid on all the contestants and the voters.