Jammu (NVI): By-election to over 12,500 panchayat seats in Jammu and Kashmir, scheduled to be held in eight phases from March 5, were indefinitely postponed today in view of security concerns.
According to an order issued by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar, the polls were being deferred because of “credible inputs from law enforcement agencies”.
The eight-phase polls were earlier scheduled to be held from March 5 to March 20 on a party basis. The polling was slated for March 5, March 7, March 9, March 12, March 14, March 16, March 18 and March 20.
The Model Code of Conduct had already come into force with the announcement of the bypolls and the CEO has already issued two notifications for the first and the second phase of eight-phase.
Panchayat elections were last held in 2018 and were boycotted by the PDP and the NC.
