Election Authority to come up with schedule soon
COVID protocol during campaign, voting
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 7: The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department today announced by-elections to 12168 Panch and 1089 Sarpanch constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which were vacant for the past about two years. Dates for the elections will be declared by the Election Authority who happened to be the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) J&K.
On the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department today announced filling up of vacancies to 1089 posts of Sarpanchs and 12168 Panchs spread over all 20 districts of the Union Territory. All necessary arrangements for conduct of the elections have been made, official sources told the Excelsior saying the election schedule including phases and dates will be notified by the Election Authority after which the Model Code of Conduct will come into force.
As the by-election will cover all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the Model Code of Conduct is likely to be imposed in the entire Union Territory, sources said.
Majority of vacancies which are to be filled by the electorates fall in Kashmir division, sources said, adding the segments of Sarpanchs and Panchs had remained vacant in the Valley in October-November 2018 when the elections were held to the Panchayats after more than seven years in the absence of candidates due to terror threats. Besides, some vacancies had arisen as Sarpanchs and Panchs had made it to the posts of the Block Development Councils (BDCs) Chairpersons.
As per the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department notification, the maximum vacancies of Sarpanchs for which elections will be held were 157 in Budgam district of Kashmir and minimum six in Samba district of Jammu region.
Posts of Sarpanchs in other districts on which elections will be held include Pulwama (152), Anantnag (137), Baramulla (149), Kulgam (132), Bandipora (50), Ganderbal (42), Kupwara (32), Shopian (75) and Srinagar (9), all in the Kashmir valley.
Vacancies of Sarpanchs in Jammu region include Udhampur (17), Reasi (10), Ramban (13), Doda (18), Jammu (17), Kathua (22), Kishtwar (23), Poonch (11) and Rajouri (16).
“Once the process of by-election to the vacancies of Sarpanchs and Panchs are completed, the Government is likely to go for elections to the District Planning and Development Boards (DPDBs) to complete the process of three-tier system for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir,” sources said, adding that elections to the Boards could be held under 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution of India.
According to sources, the Election Authority who happened to be the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K in the absence of separate Election Commission for Panchayats and Municipalities, will announce election schedule anytime now including total number of phases in which elections will be held. The Government, however, proposed to complete the election process before November 20, according to sources.
Earlier, the Government had announced by-elections to the vacancies of Panchayats, both Sarpanchs and Panchs, in the month of March this year. However, after announcing the detailed election schedule in the month of February, the Election Authority on the report of Home Department had suddenly cancelled the entire process.
Later, Coronavirus pandemic spread in the month of March in Jammu and Kashmir like other parts of the country and there was no scope left for the elections. With situation now easing to some extent and expected to improve further, the Government has decided to go for the elections.
As this will be the first election in Jammu and Kashmir amidst the pandemic, the authorities will announce all precautionary measures for COVID management during campaigning and voting.
“A detailed COVID charter to be followed by the candidates during campaigning as well as the voters is likely to be issued by the Election Authority,” sources said.
It may be mentioned here that elections to Panchayats were held in October-November 2018 after Governor’s Rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in June 2018 after seven years. Prior to that, the Panchayat elections were held in May-June 2011 during Omar Abdullah regime. Municipal elections had followed the Panchayat elections immediately. There were some vacancies in the Municipalities too.
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