Polls For 12,000 Panchayat Vacancies In Kashmir Likely In February

The administration in Jammu and Kashmir is planning to hold elections in villages where polls couldn’t be held in 2018 to complete the panchayat poll process in the region. Sheetal Nanda, commissioner secretary with the Panchayati raj department, said while speaking to HT that the process to hold the polls for vacant panchayat posts have already been finalised. “We will be doing it very soon and we are ready,” Nanda said. She also said after the completion of the polls, which could likely be held in February, elections will also be held for the chairpersons of the district development and planning boards of every district.

Last year, polls were held for chairpersons of block development boards across J&K. Out of the 17,396 panchayat wards in Kashmir, around 11,778 are still vacant for which polls couldn’t be held in 2018. Two main regional political parties National Conference (NC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had boycotted these polls in 2018 when no candidate filed the nomination papers at many places. Official’s privy to the developments said the polls could be held for 11,453 panchayat wards as others are situated in the snowbound areas and elections can’t take place there due to heavy accumulation of snow and weather conditions.