Manual book being updated for final publication
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 3: State Election Commissioner (SEC) Shantmanu today reviewed preparedness for Panchayat and District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir with District Deputy Election Officers (DDEOs) and others from Jammu division.
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A similar meeting for Kashmir division is scheduled for tomorrow in online mode.
Officials said the Commission officials briefed the officials on conduct of Panchayat and DDC elections in Jammu and Kashmir including the tasks to be assigned to Presiding Officers and Returning Officers whenever the polls are held.
“As this is for the first time that Panchayat and DDC elections will be held simultaneously, the Manual Book is being finalized and preparations are being made accordingly,” the officials said.
Today’s meeting-cum-workshop was held in offline mode while tomorrow’s meeting will be held online. However, after the meeting, the SEC will travel to the Kashmir Valley for on-spot review of arrangements for the polls.
The State Election Commission has been gearing up for conduct of Panchayat and DDC elections simultaneously and recently it issued revised electoral rolls for the Panchayats after nearly two-month-long revision exercise.
However, the Block Development Councils (BDC) elections will be held after the Panchayat polls as there is provision for holding “indirect elections” to them. The Sarpanchs and Panchs comprise the Electoral College for the BDCs.
The Local Bodies elections can be held only after implementation of the OBC Commission, report which is likely to be placed before the Cabinet and, if approved, it will go to the Lieutenant Governor for approval.
The OBC Commission was set up by the LG administration before formation of Omar Abdullah Government in the UT. The Commission headed by Justice (Retd) Janak Raj Kotwal submitted its report to the Government in February 2025 on percentage of reservation to be given to the OBCs in Panchayats, Municipalities, BDCs and DDCs.
Presently, SC/STs and women have reservation in the Local Bodies.
The Panchayats ceased to exist in Jammu and Kashmir on January 9, 2024 and the UT is without the elected Panchayats for past over two years now.
Similar is the case with the Municipalities which completed their term in October-November 2023. Term of the Block Development Councils (BDCs) was co-terminus with the Panchayats and their tenure also ended on January 9, 2024.
Tenure of the District Development Councils (DDCs) ended on February 24, 2026.
Now, the Jammu and Kashmir is without the elected Local Bodies with all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) non-existent.
The SEC recently concluded voter revision exercise for Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir in which number of electorates went up to 72.24 lakh.
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