Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Oct 12: The Panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held only after the new government approves reservation recommendations to be made by Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission. With approximately 6.5 million voters poised to shape the future of local governance, the commission is diligently working to finalise its report on reservation recommendations, which will be submitted to the government shortly.
Following the recent Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the State Election Commission ramped up its efforts regarding panchayat elections, recognising the pivotal role that local bodies play in the development of rural areas.
To facilitate the electoral process, preparations are underway to upload the list of existing voters on the State Election Commission’s website by the end of this month. This will enable voters to amend their records during special summary process.
As already reported, the UT administration constituted a three-member OBC Commission led by retired judge Janak Raj Kotwal, alongside retired IAS officer Raj Kumar Bhagat and former Dean of SKUAST Jammu, Prof Mohinder Singh. Their task is to evaluate the representation of OBCs in Jammu and Kashmir’s total population, as well as to assess the reservation provisions in municipal corporations and other local bodies.
This groundbreaking initiative is aimed at implementing OBC reservation for the first time in both panchayat and local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The commission’s findings will play a crucial role in determining whether adequate representation already exists in respective areas, which may influence the decision on the necessity of reservation.
The term of the current panchayats expired on January 9, 2024, leaving the development work to be managed by the Block Development Officers (BDOs). With 65,85,263 voters eligible to cast their ballots, the numbers may be updated with amendments before the elections, which are tentatively slated for November-December. The government will oversee the election process under the Panchayati Raj Act, with the State Election Commission committed to ensuring transparency throughout.
Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 4,291 panchayats, each led by a Sarpanch, with 33,597 Panch positions available for election. The distribution of panchayats varies across districts, with notable numbers in Udhampur (236), Ramban (143), Poonch (229), and various districts in the Kashmir division, including 21 in Srinagar and 402 in Baramulla.
State Election Commissioner BR Sharma confirmed that the Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies elections will take place once OBC reservation is finalised. (KNO)
