Panchayat elections in the vacant seats of Jammu and Kashmir have been announced. The panchayat elections will be held in March even as top politicians of Jammu and Kashmir, including 3 former chief ministers, are in detention for over 6 months.
Close to 60 per cent of the total panchayat seats in Kashmir remained vacant even after the last panchayat elections due to lack of participation in the electoral process. These vacant seats will be filled now.
J&K Chief Electoral officer Shailendra Kumar made the announcement on Thursday and declared the dates for panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The panchayat elections will be held in 8 phases in March.
The 8 phases of polling will be observed on March 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20. The first notification for the process will be issued on February 15.