24 September, Srinagar: In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government is considering postponing the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections in collaboration with the UT administration. Reliable sources indicate that the elections will likely take place after the parliamentary elections, which are anticipated to take place in April or May of 2024.
According to sources, the Centre Government and the J&K administration are debating whether or not to conduct ULB elections in the UT before the end of this year. They said that the Central administration believes that ULB elections in the Union Territory of J&K would be postponed till the next year when elections for the House of Representatives are conducted. They continued by saying that ULB, being a grassroots activity, required more extensive security procedures than parliamentary elections.
“Compared to the LS elections, which are scheduled to take place in April or May 2024, the ULB polls need extensive security precautions. Door-to-door canvassing is being used in this election, hence proper security is required. The J&K government and New Delhi are now in contact about the arrangements needed for the successful holding of the ULB elections. According to assessments sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs by security organisations, ULB elections should be postponed until 2024 since they are not in any way feasible this year.
In order to dissuade people from participating in any democratic activity, they said, security services have reliable information that terrorists may reveal their existence and launch attacks against citizens and security personnel in the coming months. “Security personnel have been placed on alert after the incidents in Rajouri, Kokernag, and Srinagar. They have solid evidence that terrorist attacks might occur in the next months. The security services have written to MHA asking for a rescheduling of ULB elections in the UT in order to reduce danger, he added.
If ULB votes are not delayed, the security agencies, according to a source, do not want to reduce the proportion of voters in LS votes.
The sources said that all elections in the Union Territory of J&K would be conducted in the proper order after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections. He said, “The assembly elections in the UT will be held until all polls are concluded successfully. The ULB polls will be held first, followed by Panchayat, BDC, and DDC polls.”
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, called a crucial conference of the northern zone States and UTs, including J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and New Delhi, on September 26 in order to examine the security situation and have an open discussion with the appropriate authorities. According to sources, the meeting would include the Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, DGP Dilbagh Singh, and other senior J&K government officials. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has also reportedly been invited. Along with discussing other matters, HM Amit Shah will hear directly from J&K authorities on the current security situation in the UT.
According to the reports, the meeting would cover the security situation that has arisen after recent confrontations in the Rajouri and Kokernag districts.
A proposal to conduct ULB, BDC, and DDC elections similar to the Panchayat polling pattern, in which citizens have the ability to choose their local representatives, is reportedly before the national government. The ULB, BDC, and DDC elections will be held in Jammu & Kashmir in the same manner as in the other States and UTs of the nation. Previously, Panchs and Sirpanchs chose BDCs, while BDCs chose DDC. People will now have the ability to choose their DDCs and BDCs thanks to an amendment. Additionally, the citizens of Jammu and Srinagar will pick their mayors, according to authorities.
It is important to note that once Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced that ULB elections will take place before the end of this year, all regional and national political parties, including the BJP, immediately began to prepare their public outreach initiatives across J&K. However, it is said that political activity in the area would drastically decrease as a result of the postponement of ULB votes in the UT.
The nomination of a new DGP for J&K is expected to be considered during the meeting on September 26th, which is being presided over by Home Minister Amit Shah.
