SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir’s State Election Commissioner BR Sharma on Tuesday said that the preparations for conducting the Panchayat polls in the Union Territory have already begun.
Sharma said the poll process has to be completed one month before the completion of the term of existing Panchayats. “We have to be ready for the polls and we are making preparations in this regard,” he said.
The five-year term of Panchayats would end on January 9, 2024 as they were constituted on January 10, 2019. The last Panchayat polls in Jammu & Kashmir were held in November- December 2018 when the erstwhile state was under Governor’s rule.
The Panchayat polls in Jammu & Kashmir could take place in October- November 2023 if the Centre and Jammu & Kashmir Government decide to conduct them.
The term of Block Development Councils in Jammu & Kashmir would also end on January 9 next year as they are co-terminus with Panchayats.
It would be interesting to see whether the district development councils in Jammu & Kashmir would complete their five-year term or would also face dissolution with Panchayats—(KNO)
