After seven years, Jammu and Kashmir is preparing to hold panchayat elections in April-May this year. The development marks a crucial step in reviving grassroots democracy.
Electoral rolls for the polls were finalised and made public on January 20.
According to the information available, the State Election Commission (SEC) has started procuring essential materials, including nearly 40,000 voting compartments and several other required items.
The procurement process is expected to conclude by March 11, with delivery anticipated within a month. With a total of 38,800 polling stations—18,700 in Jammu and 20,100 in Kashmir—the election will be conducted across the region.
The last panchayat elections took place in 2018, and since the previous panchayat bodies completed their tenure in 2023, the upcoming polls will be critical for maintaining local governance.
This will be the first panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, making it a significant political event in the region.
On February 10, Jammu and Kashmir Panchyat Conference president Anil Sharma urged the government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take immediate steps to ensure the democratic process at the grassroots level is not further delayed.
Sharma criticised the delay in holding panchayat elections despite the State Election Commission being constituted. "It is unfortunate that this institution has remained inactive for over a year, and no one seems willing to raise their voice for it," he said.
The government has said the grassroots elections were delayed as the report from a Commission to decide the percentage of reservations to Other Backward Class (OBC). Several new categories were added to the OBC after the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The Commission will have submit its report by the end of February.
The panchayat elections are likely to be tough fight between parties to captured space at the grassroots. With reservation to OBC, the elections will be tightly fought contest as all political parties are likely to fields candidates from OBC. Even when elections are conducted on non-party basis, political parties filed their candidates who after wining join political parties that backed them.