‘Administration is likely to seek additional paramilitary forces for elections as existing armed forces personnel are busy in anti-militancy operations’
Jammu: In Jammu and Kashmir, the municipal elections are likely to be held in the next month in three phases in the Jammu division and four phases in the Kashmir valley.
They are likely to conclude at the start of November this year, All India Radio reported. A formal announcement in this regard is expected before the month-end as the Election Authority is in the process of finalizing a large number of objections received for the draft reservation Wards next week before publication of a final list of reservations, which is the last major formality left to be completed for the announcement of the elections.
However, the JK administration is likely to seek additional paramilitary forces for the conduct of the elections as existing armed forces personnel are busy in anti-militancy operations across the union te rritory, the report said.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) PK Pole, has been holding regular reviews of the preparations for elections to 77 Urban Local Bodies in JK including 40 in Kashmir and 37 in Jammu, two of them corporations (Jammu and Srinagar) and 19 councils.
The rest are the municipal committees. The election authority has received a large number of objections to the draft reservation list of wards in corporations, councils, and committees. The authority has given 33% reservation to women besides Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The five-year term of the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will be completed in the first week of December this year and the municipalities will be in place before that. However, the term of the Block Development Councils (BDCs) will end in October 2024 while the District Development Councils (DDCs) will complete their tenure in January 2026. The municipal elections are set to be followed by panchayat polls.
