State Election Commission gears up for J&K Panchayat elections

The State Election Commission (SEC) in Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up for the peaceful conduct of the Panchayat Polls soon after completing the process for the preparation of electoral rolls.

No elected local body is currently functional in the Union Territory.

The tenure of municipalities ended in October-November 2023, while panchayats and Block Development Councils completed their five-year term on January 9, 2024.

The term of District Development Councils also ended on February 24, leaving all local bodies without elected representatives.

At present, the State Election Commission is awaiting publication of the draft electoral rolls. According to senior officials of the State Election Commission, the National Informatics Centre is expected to complete the process of publication of the electoral rolls by March 23.

The State Election Commissioner, Shantmanu, is scheduled to attend a meeting in New Delhi on March 23 to review the status of the electoral polls. After the publication of the draft electoral rolls, the SEC will give at least four weeks to the people for filing objections. The SEC has set April 1, 2026, as the cut-off date for inclusion of new voters for the Panchayat polls.

After receiving the objections, the SEC will complete final scrutiny of the rolls within two weeks. “Tentatively, the final electoral rolls will be published on May 10,” the SEC said.

The final schedule of the Panchayat Polls will be determined by the authorities based on the outcome of the recommendations of the OBC Commission and the prevailing security situation in the region.. So far, the Government has not taken any decision on the report. The OBC commission had earlier recommended a percentage of reservation for the OBCs in Panchayats, Municipalities, Block Development Councils (BDCs) and District Development Councils (DDCs).

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) last week met State Election Commissioner (SEC) Shantmanu and sought early elections to panchayats and urban local bodies in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to officials, elections to local bodies could not be held on time due to multiple factors, including the delimitation exercise and the reservation of wards for other backward classes.

The Congress delegation discussed issues and concerns of people in rural and urban areas related to panchayats and municipal bodies, including revision of electoral rolls, delimitation and rationalisation of wards, rotation and reservation for SCs, STs, women and OBCs, and the overall conduct of elections, the party spokesman said.