J&K local polls in limbo as NC invokes Statehood, SEC sets August deadline

The future of long-delayed Panchayat and District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir has become a fresh political flashpoint, with the State Election Commission (SEC) asking the government to take a decision by the end of August if the polls are to be held this year. According to the SEC, a decision by the end of this month would allow the election process to move ahead, with polling potentially held in October-November. Any further delay could push the elections to March-April 2027, as snowfall and harsh winter conditions from December are expected to make the conduct of elections difficult.

Senior National Conference leader and party spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq linked the timing of the elections to the restoration of statehood, arguing that the government would respond to the SEC at the ‘appropriate time’. “The report will come at the appropriate time, the way Delhi keeps telling us the appropriate time for statehood. The same way, we will give it to the Election Commission. Jammu and Kashmir has an elected government. It’s a majority government, and the government has many demands from the Centre which have not been fulfilled.

The SEC has already shared details of the preparations and timelines required to conduct the elections. These include a special summary revision of electoral rolls with October 1 as the qualifying date, enrolment of new voters who have turned 18, reservation of seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), rotation of seats reserved for women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, as well as procurement of election material, including ballot boxes. The implementation of the OBC Commission’s recommendations has emerged as another key issue. The SEC has written to the government twice seeking a decision on the report of the commission headed by retired Justice JR Kotwal, which submitted its report in February 2025. No final decision on the report has yet been taken.

“We were told that delimitation and then statehood would be restored. It is still not done. Statehood is important. Are they waiting for a BJP government to come to power and then give us statehood? The BJP will never come to power in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sadiq said. The terms of several elected local bodies have already expired. The term of the Panchayats ended on January 9, 2024, while the Block Development Councils (BDCs) also completed their terms. Municipal bodies completed their terms in October-November 2023. The five-year term of the DDCs ended on February 24, 2026.

The elections would be significant as they would restore elected institutions at the grassroots level after a prolonged gap. Jammu and Kashmir had, for the first time, simultaneously established elected institutions at all three levels of the Panchayati Raj system. BJP leader Altaf Thakur accused the National Conference of using statehood as a pretext to delay the polls, saying, “National Conference has only one excuse, and that is statehood. Is the National Conference stopping the development of Jammu and Kashmir for just one reason of statehood?”

Thakur said the absence of elected Panchayati Raj institutions was affecting development in rural areas, particularly the flow and implementation of funds intended for local bodies. “The development funds that used to come for Panchayat bodies are not coming because the elections are not happening, and it is because of the National Conference that these elections are not taking place. People in villages and far-flung areas need water supply and electricity. They cannot keep bringing up the statehood issue every time,” he said.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has also called for the elections to be held without further delay. PDP leader GH Hanjura said Panchayat elections were essential for the functioning of democracy and criticised the government for not taking a decision despite the SEC indicating that preparations were underway. “Panchayat elections are very important. They should be held. For any democracy, Panchayat elections are important, but they have not been held for two years. We don’t have DDCs. The National Conference does not want to hold elections,” Hanjura said.

Hanjura said the government’s repeated reference to an ‘appropriate time’ was insufficient and demanded clarity on when that time would actually come. “The Election Commission has said that it is all set to hold the elections, but the government has not taken any decision. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that elections will happen at the appropriate time. When will this appropriate time be? Just as the BJP says the appropriate time to restore statehood, Omar Abdullah says Panchayat elections will be held at the appropriate time. I want these Panchayat elections to be held as soon as possible,” he said.

With the SEC's August deadline approaching, the government now faces a decision that could determine whether Jammu and Kashmir's long-pending Panchayat and DDC elections are held before winter or pushed into 2027. The political dispute over Statehood, meanwhile, has added another layer of uncertainty to the electoral process.