Panchayat, ULB elections to be held as per schedule, says Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary despite NC, PDP boycott call

Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary BVR Subrahmanyam on Monday said that Panchayat and municipal polls will proceed as scheduled on 5 November. Attending an awami darbar in Kulgam district,  according to a report in Greater Kashmir, Subrahmanyam said, “Panchayat polls are on, urban local bodies polls are on. A decision was taken in July. Voter list drafts have been printed and finalised. In a few days, actual notification will be issued by the CEO. Panchayat elections will be held around Nov 5. The CEO will notify dates for that…Within one week you will see the entire process.” [caption id=“attachment_5154891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] BVR Subrahmanyam’s remarks came after NC and PDP announced to boycott the polls. Firstpost/ Debobrat G[/caption] His remarks came after the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced to boycott the polls owing to the situation concerning Article 35A. On Monday, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti announced at a press briefing in Srinagar that PDP would boycott panchayat elections and local body polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Concluding that ground situation is not favourable for panchayat polls, Mufti urged the government to review its decision to hold polls at this juncture . She said connecting panchayat polls to a case pending in the Supreme Court on Article 35A has created an alarm among the people. On 5 September, NC president Farooq Abdullah had announced that the party will not participate in the panchayat and urban local bodies (ULB) elections until the government and the state government make their position clear on Article 35A.