After the assembly elections, panchayat and municipal elections will likely take place in December in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the elections await a decision on the percentage of seats to be reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
This year, Parliament passed a bill granting OBCs reservation in panchayats, municipalities, Block Development Councils (BDCs), and District Development Councils (DDCs). The government has formed a Backward Classes Commission to recommend the quantum of reservations for OBCs. The terms of panchayats and other local bodies in J&K ended in November 2023, but fresh elections were delayed due to the pending decision on OBC reservations.
The panchayat elections were last held in 2018 on a non-party basis. The National Conference (NC) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) had boycotted the election but reportedly fielded proxy candidates. However, these parties, along with others, participated in the District Development Council (DDC) polls.
The proposed panchayat and municipal elections will be the third major democratic exercise in Jammu and Kashmir after the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Security forces, who were deployed for the Amarnath Yatra and assembly elections, will remain in place to ensure the peaceful conduct of these elections.
In the 2018 panchayat elections, 27,281 panches and sarpanches were elected, but, 12,776 positions remained vacant until they were filled through bypolls in 2020. The upcoming panchayat elections will be held after a fresh delimitation of revenue villages.
Anil Sharma, president of the J&K Panchayat Conference, told THE WEEK that the decision to hold panchayat and municipal elections was a welcome development. He said the delimitation of revenue villages (halqas) should be expedited. "I think half the process is already underway, and it will not take long to complete," he said. "There are 4,129 panchayats, and after delimitation, the number will increase."
He also emphasized that, during the delimitation, voters should be relocated to the nearest halqa. "The migration of voters should be completed alongside the delimitation," he added. Sharma believes that the elections should be held on a non-party basis. "Elections should be held on a non-party basis, and there needs to be an anti-defection law to prevent panches from defecting," he said. He also suggested that the government consider raising the development fund from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for each panchayat.
After the completion of panchayat and municipal elections, the three-tier governance system will be fully implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. Observers believe that such a system will improve governance and address the needs of people at the grassroots level.